Ranking the best — and worst — Carolina Panthers QBs in history, from No. 14 to No. 1
Teddy Bridgewater starts for the Carolina Panthers at quarterback today, but Frank Reich was the first man to hold that job. In the 25 years in between, there have been 17 other men who have started at least one game for Carolina at QB.
Since I’ve covered all of them for The Charlotte Observer, and since a number of Carolina fans have recently asked me how Bridgewater compares to the best to play the position for the team, it’s time to unveil my all-time list of the best and worst Panther quarterbacks.
For the purposes of this list, a quarterback had to start at least three games for Carolina in his career, in order to provide a large enough sample size to judge. There have been 14 QBs who have done that, and I am counting them down from 14 (the worst) to 1.
A couple of notes before we begin: Performances elsewhere don’t count. Derek Anderson had a Pro Bowl year in Cleveland before he got to Carolina, for instance. Cam Newton is playing well in New England -- although an ESPN report Saturday said he had tested positive for COVID-19 and would miss Sunday’s game vs. Kansas City. But I’m evaluating players purely for what they did in a Panthers uniform.
The number in parentheses after each name refers to their record as a Carolina starter in regular-season games only. Here we go:
14. Jimmy Clausen (1-9)
Clausen’s depressing 2010 season remains the low-water mark for all Panther QBs. His starts were so numbingly boring that the 2010 season remains the only time I actively disliked going to Carolina games.
Despite starting 10 games in 2010, Clausen threw only three touchdown passes. Many quarterbacks manage that in a single game. It was horrible. Bonus note: On signing day in 2007, Clausen (headed for Notre Dame) was the No. 1 recruit in the country in the Rivals.com Top 100. Cam Newton, in the same class, ranked No. 28.
13. Chris Weinke (2-17)
The former Heisman Trophy winner from Florida State had 14 TD passes and 26 interceptions during his time as a Panther. In one of his two wins (in 19 tries!), the Panthers used the “Wildcat” formation and sometimes snapped the ball directly to running back DeAngelo Williams in 2006. Weinke threw only seven passes that whole game, completing four for a measly 32 yards. But Carolina — basically pretending it had no QB that day — ran it 52 times and eked out a 10-3 win over Atlanta.
12. David Carr (1-3)
The Panthers ended up employing the wrong Carr brother.
While Derek now starts for the Las Vegas Raiders, has made the Pro Bowl three times and beat Carolina in Week 1, older brother David came to Charlotte after being pummeled in the pocket for five years in Houston. David Carr, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2002 draft ahead of Julius Peppers, had a deer-in-the-headlights look for almost his entire time at Carolina.
11. Frank Reich (0-3)
Now the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Reich was a 33-year-old veteran in 1995. He was known for an incredible playoff comeback he directed while with the Buffalo Bills when Carolina brought him in to be their first quarterback during the expansion season. Reich lasted only three games, all losses, before the Panthers decided to replace him with rookie Kerry Collins and never looked back.
10. Vinny Testaverde (2-4)
Testaverde had one of the most remarkable QB wins in Carolina history. Signed out of retirement in 2007, only four days before his first Panthers game, the 43-year-old Testaverde beat Arizona in his first start — and threw a 65-yard TD pass to Steve Smith while doing so.
After that, Testaverde fell to earth, or at least into a La-Z-Boy, by losing four of his last five starts for Carolina and then retiring for good. Still, that first win was something.
9. Derek Anderson (2-2)
Anderson was Cam Newton’s backup for seven years at Carolina, and Newton was so durable in those years that Anderson only started four games — winning the first two. Anderson was a solid backup who would have been higher on this list if he had just played more. He also helped teach Newton how to be a pro.
8. Rodney Peete (8-7)
A lot of people forget that Peete was the first starting quarterback for Carolina’s eventual Super Bowl team of 2003. But coach John Fox gave the 37-year-old Peete the quick hook when the team got down 14-0 at halftime in Week 1, switching to Jake Delhomme. Peete was Wally Pipp-ed out of the starting job after that.
.JPG "CLT_PANTHERS_PACKERS_47 (1).JPG")
7. Kyle Allen (6-7)
Allen was the starter for the majority of the 2019 season after Cam Newton got hurt and began by winning four games in a row before things began to disintegrate. Given time, Allen was an accurate thrower — although he could be turnover-prone. Ron Rivera, now Washington’s head coach, traded for Allen in the 2020 offseason to be the team’s backup.
6. Matt Moore (7-6)
Much like Allen, Moore began his Carolina career with a bang, winning a number of starts early and looking so good at the end of the 2009 season that the Panthers cut Delhomme in 2010 with the intention of handing the job to Moore.
However, Moore got hurt that season and the reins ended up in the hands of Clausen, with disastrous results. Now 36, Moore is still in the league as Patrick Mahomes’ backup in Kansas City and earned a Super Bowl ring last season.
5. Teddy Bridgewater (1-2)
Bridgewater’s first three starts with Carolina have already shown him to be a smart, low-risk quarterback who is adept at not turning the ball over and getting it out of his hands quickly. To earn a spot higher on this list, he will need to take a few more risks and stick around long enough to win a lot more games — my top four all won at least 20 for Carolina, and all except Steve Beuerlein directed at least one playoff win.
4. Kerry Collins (20-22)
The Panthers’ first-ever draft pick in 1995, Collins had an up-and-down four years with Carolina. When healthy and focused, he was a strong-armed quarterback who directed the Panthers to the NFC Championship game in his and their second season. He also threw too many interceptions — 54 of them, compared to 47 TD passes — and fought a serious alcohol problem while in Charlotte.
Four games into the 1998 season, the Panthers waived him after Collins’ infamous “my heart’s not in it” meeting with coach Dom Capers. Collins would later rebound to lead the New York Giants to a Super Bowl.
3. Steve Beuerlein (23-28)
While most well-known for the quarterback draw that beat Green Bay, Beuerlein might have been the most purely accurate quarterback the Panthers ever employed. He had 86 touchdown passes to only 50 interceptions and had a Pro Bowl year in 1999 with Carolina, setting team records for passing yardage (4436) and TD passes (36) that still stand. Carolina’s sudden release of Beuerlein in early 2001 — head coach George Seifert wanted to give the offense’s keys to Jeff Lewis — was one of the biggest personnel miscalculations in team history.
2. Jake Delhomme (53-37)
Delhomme is already in the Panthers’ Hall of Honor — the only quarterback enshrined so far — but he would tell you himself that Newton should be No. 1 on this list. Delhomme played about 40 pounds lighter than Newton and was undrafted, while Newton was picked No. 1 overall. He had nowhere near Newton’s running ability.
But starting with his first game for Carolina — a stirring comeback against Jacksonville in 2003 — Delhomme had a knack for throwing the ball beautifully when it really mattered. He still leads the Panthers in all-time playoff wins by a QB (five) as well as fourth-quarter comebacks (17). Delhomme now lives in Louisiana and works as the Panthers’ primary radio analyst.
1. Cam Newton (68-55-1)
Newton is the only Panther to ever win NFL Most Valuable Player and holds a slew of league records for rushing by a quarterback. He started for most of nine years for the Panthers until the team released him this past offseason. Newton now starts for New England.
While 2015 remains his statistical zenith, Newton’s production was extraordinary as a Panther — he has almost double the total number of TDs as Delhomme when you add in both players’ rushing scores.
It’s true that with the game on the line, down four points and only one drive left, I would still take Delhomme in the huddle over any other Panther QB in history. Delhomme also played better in his Super Bowl loss than Newton did in his.
But when he was at his peak, Newton simply didn’t let games get down to that final drive. By then, he had already put them away. No. 1 is No. 1 on my all-time Panthers’ QB list.
This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
