The Carolina Panthers’ offense put on a listless performance in their 20-3 loss to the Houston Texans. Still, the biggest story coming out of the game may be backup quarterback Andy Dalton leaving the field after just six snaps due to an elbow injury. The Dalton injury has prompted the Panthers to make a move, signing former UFL MVP quarterback Bryce Perkins.
Head coach Dave Canales commented on the injury in his postgame press conference. Canales was explaining why Dalton was pulled early and whether there was any concern of a long-term injury. Darin Gantt of Panthers.com transcribed Canales’ answer.
“Looks like an elbow sprain,” Canales said. “We’ll image it tomorrow, so I don’t really have the details of all that. He was moving it around fine. He said he feels fine, but we’ve got to take a look and see what happens there.”
While the Panthers are finding out more information about Dalton’s injury, they are giving Perkins another shot at playing in the NFL.
Bryce Perkins’ Football Journey
Bryce Perkins’ pro football career began when he was signed by the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2020 following an impressive senior season at the University of Virginia. In his senior year, Perkins threw for 3,540 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and had a 64% completion percentage. Perkins also showed he was dynamic running the ball with 227 carries for 769 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.
Perkins then spent the next few seasons bouncing back and forth from the Rams’ practice squad to the active roster. He even received a Rams Super Bowl LVI ring for being a part of the team. In 2022, Perkins finally saw his first game action and threw his first touchdown pass.
Following the 2022 season and being released by the Rams, Perkins was a free agent for the 2023 season. 2024 saw Perkins revive his football career, signing with the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League. After not starting in 2024, Perkins would become the starter in 2025 en route to becoming both UFL Offensive Player of the Year and MVP of the league.
Now, Perkins is still playing for the Panthers, but this time back in Carolina and back in the NFL.
Resting Starters
Part of the reason the Panthers may have signed Bryce Perkins, beyond Andy Dalton’s injury, is that the team plans to rest their starters in their final preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The only other QB on the roster in that case would have been Jack Plummer before Perkins signed with the Panthers.
Dave Canales has said that practice this week will be all the more critical since the next game the starters will play will be in the regular season. Darin Gantt of Panthers.com transcribed Canales’ postgame press conference thoughts on practice in the upcoming week.
“So those practices really become so valuable,” Canales said. “Because it’s the last time we have this whole group together, and we’re able to get the intensity that we want going into the season. I feel great about our conditioning level. I feel great about the physicality of the play. I don’t feel great about our execution of the basics because it’s not showing up consistently for us, and there are flashes.”
Perkins likely won’t see too many reps in practice due to the offense needing to refine itself ahead of the season, but Thursday against the Steelers, Perkins could be playing for his NFL future.
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