SmokinwithWilly

That's if he doesn't push to have his extension like other QBs that have remained with their teams have done following year 3. Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, Herbert, Hurts, Lawrence all got their extensions after year 3. Lamar played out his 5th year. That's why I said the 5th year and extension could be a potential clusterfug. His agent could very well push for the extension. Lamar didn't have an agent to advise him. Playing out the 5th year is not the norm at all.

Moton is a lock next year. His dead cap if cut is in the 20s. Hunt is too. His hit is too big. Lewis could be a casualty and Corbett certainly is one. Mays, dunno. If we keep him, unless we plan on drafting a center, he could pursue starting money. That's why I thought paying Hunt and Lewis was insane instead of drafting guards and a center with Icky's contract looming on the horizon. This 5th year and extension is a potential clusterfug.

That's a little different than signing a 5th year extension then bringing in another player to push the guy you just extended. Drafting a QB to sit on the bench and learn is how it used to be done and QBs actually perform better generally when they do have that opportunity instead of being plugged into the starting lineup right away.

I'm fine picking up the option if he keeps playing like he did in Atl and he did yesterday. My concern lies in what we've seen from QBs like Mahomes, Allen, Burrow pushing for their extensions at the end of year 3, unlike Lamar who played his out through year 5. Lamar also took a ton of flack for playing on that 5th year instead of pursuing the extension as a league MVP. When/if/how an extension for Bryce falls can change a lot of things regarding how this team looks moving forward.

You forgot 11 fumbles.

And a legitimate question to ask is what does this offense look like once Bryce is off his rookie contract? How is that offensive line going to look? We have a ton of money invested up front and that is 100% unsustainable with Bryce making starting QB money. Icky and Moton are going to be 50m per season plus the guards at 32 and possibly Mays at 6-8 if we're lucky. Add in Bryce and that's 125m just on those 6 players if we tried to keep them all. It's just not doable. So then the real question IMO becomes, if we spent the money on our OL, and less on a QB, would the outcome be that much different? I haven't seen Bryce elevate the offense enough by himself on a consistent basis to warrant the contract we would have to give him, not to mention the players we would have to give up, based on the accelerations of the bonuses as I understand them, would likely include Icky.

The only one I can think of is we had Darnold on the 5th year and brought in Baker as "competition." Even then, we had traded for Darnold. I can't think of another instance where the 5th year was used on the drafted QB and then another QB had to be brought in to push the now guaranteed starter. You're guaranteeing him 27m in 2027. That's your starting LT salary for the season and we're already cash strapped on the line. An adequate backup that can push him at this point (if it's even allowed, which judging by history it's not) is probably going to run 6-12m per season if one is even available with all the teams needing QBs.

Put in a claim just so we don't have to see Moore in the lineup again.

If he has the choice I meant

I can see him heading to the Rams for a SB ring.

The time for that was week 1. This is essentially a contract year. Based on his body of work as a whole, are you ready to lock him in as your starting QB for the next 5 years at 45m AAV, because that's where we are.

Because you don't bring in competition if you're paying your QB 27m. Look at what we did with Darnold and Mayfield. He's either your guy or he isn't. Hes not playing on the final year and most agents aren't going to let a 5th year stand. They'll push for the extension now. If we're willing to do the 5th year, why aren't we willing to do the extension? That's why I didn't care what the win loss record was this year. We needed to know if Bryce is the franchise QB or not. At the end of the year we have to make a decision that locks us in to Bryce for the next 5 or we move on. Now maybe his agent doesn't play hard ball with the Panthers, but I don't see that happening. Most likely we decide Bryce's future in Carolina at the end of this season. Extend, trade or cut. That's the most likely scenario based on history. Bryce's play over the past 3 years, are you paying him 50m a season? And who are you letting walk to do it? Give Bryce his extension and Icky is all but gone. Can't pay everyone on that line and there are too many bonuses that will be accelerated. It's not so simple as just play him on the 5th year.

Because the 5th year has to be picked up after he finishes this year or not at all.

Hence why my problem all along has been Fitts/Morgan and the FO since we drafted Bryce and actually since 2018. We don't model ourselves after successful organizations. We've tried to blaze the trail with algorithms and metrics and RAS scores instead of just figuring out if these guys can play.

But here's my thing. If you plug in Jacoby Brissett, are we still a winning football team? Most likely yes. That's my issue. We're at the point of franchise QB defining money and I don't see the difference between what Bryce is doing and what an average NFL starter is doing. I don't care about one and done in the playoffs and off into obscurity again. I want consistent success. We haven't had it in 3 decades. An inconsistent QB in the bottom 3rd metric of starting QBs doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies that he's going to lead the team that direction either.

JMO, but the only reason he made it through this season is we did everything possible to keep a backup that was worse than Bryce. Dalton was washed lasted year. How he got a 2 year contract is beyond me. Year 1 was one of the worst years ever for a rookie QB. Nowhere to go but up. Year 2 he was benched 2 games in until Dalton for hurt in a car accident. Then he played better but we were out of it and the pressure was off. Year 3 has been well below average with a few bright spots here and there. Year 4 maybe average might be a guess, but that's stretching it IMO.

There were 2 INTs and can't forget the strip sack by Brown on Stafford. Defense played a huge part in this game. Without them stepping up when they did, this is a L.

This has nothing to do with liking Bryce. We need a new backup. We needed one last year. We need to look at a young QB in the draft as well in case 4th year Bryce is the same as 1st 3 years Bryce. Improve the QB room. Don't settle and be complacent. Do what's best for the team as a whole.

This is beginner level GM stuff to do. If we don’t do this, it tells me Tepper is still calling the shots and Dan is yes man Fitts2.0.

Too easy. Bryce is playing on his 4th year only. No 5th year option. Cut Dalton and get a younger vet that can actually compete for the starting job that can actually run DCs offense. The bar isn't high based on past performance. Draft a young QB that has the metrics and ability to run DCs offense. No 1st rounder but I wouldn't be opposed to a 2nd or 3rd. Carry 3 QBs in camp and on the roster. Legit QB competition. He who wins the starter job, starts. Doesn't matter if it's Bryce or a rookie. Best QB for the team to win. Period. If you're not willing to have Bryce face competition, then this whole thing is a farce anyway and we will be in year 35 of the rebuilding process.

The real question is are any football people making this decision or is it Dave and Nicole deciding the future of the franchise again?

No. What myself and many others want is for Bryce to show some form of consistency. Vs Atl he has the best game of his career followed up by shitting the bed on prime time. Most of his games have been bad with the occasional good half performance thrown in here and there. What I and many other "haters" were calling for was a single complete year of relatively consistent play from our QB to be able to say with certainty, extend him or cut him. We're in the same place now as we were st the beginning of the year. QB purgatory. Who knows what he is? The only thing you can say with any certainty is he's consistently inconsistent.

Bryce has been protected from competition unlike any other QB in the NFL, probably ever. We've consciously hurt our team to keep any other QB who might play better away from this team. Andy Dalton and Jack Plummer were not the 2 best QBs available for camp this summer. Id argue they weren't in the top 60.

I believe David Tepper is the worst owner in the history of sports. The only thing he's proven so far is whatever he thinks, do the opposite. DC is here because any other legitimate hire turned down the offer to coach the Panthers. He wasn't and still isn't ready. Morgan is the remnants of the worst GM office in Panthers and probably football history. An independent 3rd party decided he was the best candidate based on what exactly? Certainly not his history with Fittershits. Ultimately I think Tepper quadruples down and offers Bryce a 45m AAV extension for 5 years and sinks the Panthers even lower than they are now. Bryce is not a franchise QB but people see a game like this and think he's got "it" while ignoring the majority of his career where the only thing he's brought is PS level QB play.

Monday was a relevant game on national TV and Bryce poo the bed with a turd larger than he is.