Andy Dalton will spend Year 16 in a new locale.
The Philadelphia Eagles are acquiring the veteran quarterback from the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a 2027 seventh-round pick, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported Wednesday. The trade is pending a physical.
Dalton, 38, spent the past three years in Carolina after his first nine NFL seasons as the Cincinnati Bengals starter gave way to a nomadic period from 2020-23 in which he went from the Dallas Cowboys to the Chicago Bears to the New Orleans Saints before landing with the Panthers.
Giving up a seventh-rounder a year from now is a reasonable price for Philly to bolster its QB room behind Jalen Hurts. NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo reported that 2023 sixth-rounder Tanner McKee is firmly No. 2 on the depth chart, but Dalton represents an in-case-of-emergency option with veteran savvy at the Eagles' disposal, as well.
Dalton's most prominent action as a Panther came in 2024, when Carolina benched Bryce Young in favor of Dalton heading into Week 3, after which the Red Rifle started the next five contests, going 1-4 while throwing for 989 yards, seven touchdown and six interceptions with an 82.5 passer rating. The Panthers turned the reins back over to Young after Dalton suffered a thumb injury in a car crash.
He started one contest in relief of Young last season, a 40-9 loss to the Buffalo Bills in which he threw for 175 yards and a pick on 16-of-24 passing.
He joins the Eagles sporting 39,793 passing yards, 254 TDs and 151 INTs in his career with three made Pro Bowls and an 84-83-2 record.
Now a third option rather than a primary backup, it's less likely he'll add to those numbers, but he can assuredly keep a team with such a ferocious defense afloat should it come to it.
His first season in Philadelphia will also serve as somewhat of a reunion tour; Dalton isn't slated to face the Bengals, who drafted him in the second round of the 2011 draft, but the Eagles do face off against a trio of his former teams -- the Cowboys (twice), Bears and Panthers.
