NanuqoftheNorth

Great example. Drew Brees was traded by the team that drafted him. Sometimes, it takes time and being surrounded by talent before a FRANCHISE QB blossoms.

While Teddy might end up being cut this June, I believe there is a good case for keeping him 1 more year as a backup. Then trade/cut him after the 2021 season. What would be the cap hit for 2022 if Teddy were cut next year, 5 mil?

Finding someone to take on Teddy's contract is likely going to cost the Panthers bodies or picks. Might be better off keeping him around 1 more year and then cutting him after the season ends. That should set the team up for success in 2022. Don't see Carolina making a serious run in 2021 anyway.

Sam is a relatively low risk when it comes to what the Panthers have given up to get him. He potentially has a high reward. Worst case scenario, Sam doesn't work out, but at least the Panthers haven't given up the farm and crippled the team for years to get him.

Exactly. Panthers now have realistic options. If they don't like what's available at 8 they should be able to easily trade back for additional picks.

No fan of Marty, but IIRC Turner was advocating for Grier after he publicly vowed the Panthers would not be left without a viable backup.

Agreed. I have deployed these in all three of our bathrooms. Toilet paper by itself is a poor substitute.

Teddy is a "game manager" only in the sense that he manages to lose games.

Yep, what is going on between his ears may very well be his biggest limiting factor.

Yep, we witnessed it time and again in 2020. When the game is on the line Teddy defaults to the safe play, taking what a defense will give him, rather than attempting a higher risk game winning play. TB is the anti-clutch QB.

See this thread (started 3 hours ago) for answers to your questions:

Longer seasons w/more games equals more injuries for the core players. More injuries equals shorter careers and potentially less money. Easy to understand the players concerns.

Addition by subtraction.

Agreed, another season of Teddy "No Clutch" doesn't offer much in the way of hope for players or fans. Unfortunately, TB's contract is something of a millstone around the Panthers neck, limiting near term options. Who knows? We may still luck out and get our future QB w/the #8 pick. If not, there are still plenty of other critical needs that can be addressed w/this draft. Hard to believe, but only a year ago, we were told by ownership and a new coaching staff that they were building for the long haul and not looking for a quick fix. Had they actually kept their word, we wouldn't be asking how to get rid of Teddy right now. As it is, when it comes to addressing the QB position, we may have to simply grin and bear it for another year or risk digging ourselves into a deeper hole than we're already in.

Of course, every fan is going to want the best QB possible for their team. The question as always is, at what price? IMHO, right now, the price is simply too high. If Carolina was only a handful of players away from competing for a championship, I'd be all in on trading future picks for a QB. As it stands, the Panthers aren't even close to competing for a championship. They still have a significant number of key positions in need of an upgrade and that's before taking into account an overall lack of depth. The Panthers have a realistic opportunity to build an adequate O-line and a strong D for our next franchise QB in the upcoming draft. To me, that is preferable to putting the Panthers next crown jewel behind a porous O-line and forcing them to continuously compensate for a D that can't protect a lead. We asked our last franchise QB to carry the team that way w/his heroics and it didn't end well. KC and Seattle are two recent examples of teams that were only a QB away from competing, and IMHO, it's an approach worthy of emulating here in Carolina.

"Non-elite"? Haven't we been comparing Super Bowl winning QBs drafted in the first round vs QBs drafted in later rounds? It's pretty clear you don't need a 1st round QB in order to win a championship. I tend to agree. Teddy is about as non-clutch of a QB as I've ever witnessed. Doesn't mean that the Panthers need to select a 1st round QB, much less give up a boatload of picks in order to be a successful team/win the Super Bowl.

What it proves is that a well coached team can be competitive in the NFL without a QB drafted in the first round. Every Panther fan should know this to be true, as Carolina almost won a Super Bowl with an underrated QB (and likely would have won if not for an errant kickoff late in the game).

And of course that other guy, Tom.

WFT doubling down.

Haha, so true. Also, which guy are you talking about?

This is looking more and more likely to be the path forward for the Panthers.

Sad but true.

^^^Cautionary Tale: Drafting first round QBs doesn't ensure Super Bowl victories. 3 winning seasons out of 9.

Brett Favre and Kurt Warner say hi!

Jake Delhomme was that sort of QB and demonstrates there is more than one way to skin a cat.