“The Red Rifle” is reloading.
Andy Dalton has started at least one game in each of his first 14 NFL seasons. That streak is about to hit 15 straight years on Sunday, with the Carolina Panthers expected to start the 37-year-old against the Buffalo Bills if Bryce Young can’t play due to a high ankle sprain.
Young, the No. 1 pick in 2023, exited after a third-quarter sack in last week’s 13–6 win over the Jets.
Dalton finished it off, leaning on the run game and short throws before icing it with a 33-yard strike to Xavier Legette with 1:36 left.
Carolina head coach Dave Canales said Young is “day-to-day.”
Dalton would try to extend Carolina’s winning streak to four games. He’ll face a Bills defense allowing the second-fewest passing yards per game (167.2) in the league.
Carolina hosts Buffalo at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Andy Dalton career highlights
Andy Dalton career stats
Dalton is sixth in career passing yards (39,618) and seventh in passing touchdowns (254) among active NFL quarterbacks. He’s played for the Cincinnati Bengals (2011-2019), Dallas Cowboys (2020), Chicago Bears (2021), New Orleans Saints (2022) and Carolina Panthers (2023-present).
Andy Dalton age
Dalton turns 38 on Oct. 29. He’s the 13th oldest active player in the league, and third oldest quarterback behind the Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers (41) and Browns’ Joe Flacco (40).
Panthers sign Mike White to practice squad
Veteran quarterback Mike White is signing to Carolina’s practice squad to provide depth. White, 30, spent the 2024 season on Buffalo’s practice squad. He lost the backup quarterback competition to Mitchell Trubisky in training camp this season and was released during final roster cuts in August. Buffalo chose to bring back Shane Buechele to the practice squad instead of White.
White was drafted in the fifth round by the Dallas Cowboys in 2018. He never appeared in a game for Dallas but went 2-5 as a starter for the New Yor Jets, played in six games as a backup with the Miami Dolphins and attempted 11 passes in the Bills’ season finale last year. For his career, White has completed 61.4% of his passes for 2,247 yards with nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Hendon Hooker, a 2023 third-round pick by the Detroit Lions, is also on the Panthers’ practice squad. At least one of those two quarterbacks will be elevated to serve as Dalton’s backup against the Bills.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Who is Panthers’ backup QB if Bryce Young is out with ankle injury?
Reporting by Ryan Miller, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
