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David Newton
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Veteran quarterback Andy Dalton has been instrumental in the development of Bryce Young, and Tuesday the Carolina Panthers made sure that relationship will continue.
Carolina re-signed Dalton, 37, to a two-year contract, the team announced. Terms were not disclosed, but a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter the contract is worth $8 million, includes $6 million guaranteed and has a max value of $10 million.
Dalton was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next month. He made it clear after the season that his preference was to return to Carolina, and Young, the top pick of the 2023 draft, made it clear that he wanted Dalton back.
“Me and Andy are super close,” Young, the Panthers’ starting quarterback, said late this past season. “From when I first got here, just being able to talk with him through things, him having perspective on a situation that I had never been a part of. I was always leaning on him, always having conversations.
“You can’t add up the hours we spent here. … And just being able to have someone that you can bounce stuff off of, ask how you see things, whether it’s X’s and O’s or it’s a philosophical thing or stuff outside of football somewhere nuanced in between. He is always there just trying to help me out.”
Dalton signed a two-year, $11 million deal with the Panthers in 2023 to help develop Young.
The veteran became the starter in Week 3 this past season after Young was benched due to bad numbers during an 0-2 start following a 2-14 rookie season.
Dalton threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns in his first start, a 36-22 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Despite losing the next four games, he remained the starter until suffering a thumb injury to his throwing (right) hand in a multicar accident the week before the team’s Week 8 game at the Denver Broncos.
He never got the job back as Young, after losing to the Broncos, led Carolina to consecutive wins and showed steady improvement the rest of the season. Dalton finished the season with 989 yards passing, 7 touchdowns and 6 interceptions while completing 66.3% of his passes.
A second-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2011 draft, Dalton has thrown for 39,500 yards with 253 touchdowns and 150 interceptions in 14 seasons. He has been selected to three Pro Bowls.