CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Imagine this headline two weeks ago had the Cincinnati Bengals traded for Carolina Panthers backup quarterback Andy Dalton instead of Joe Flacco to replace the injured Joe Burrow: “Three-time Bengals Pro Bowler returns to save the day.”
“When you think about it, it could have been cool,” Dalton, who spent his first nine seasons with Cincinnati, recently told ESPN. “At this point in my career, it wasn’t worth trying to explore that option right now.”
Dalton is happy in his role as Bryce Young’s backup at Carolina, which is above .500 (4-3) for the first time this late in the season since 2019. The soon-to-be 38-year-old is ready for an opportunity to start, which appears likely Sunday against the Buffalo Bills (1 p.m. ET, Fox), as Young is dealing with a sprained ankle suffered in the third quarter of Sunday’s 13-6 win at the New York Jets.
A league source told ESPN on Monday that Young is expected to miss at least one start. Young didn’t practice on Wednesday, but he worked on the side and showed little to no limp as coach Dave Canales continued to insist his starter’s status is day-to-day.
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Regardless, Dalton isn’t looking to permanently replace Young as seemed to be the case last season, when Young was benched following a 0-2 start. Dalton might have finished the 2024 season as the starter had it not been for an Oct. 22 car accident in which he suffered a sprained thumb that sidelined him for the next game. Young started the rest of the games and finally showed the promise of living up to being the No. 1 pick of the 2023 draft.
But Dalton’s focus now is on Buffalo (4-2) and how he can help Carolina win a fourth straight game for the first time since 2019.
Bills offensive lineman Connor McGovern expects the same thing from Dalton that he saw in 2020, when both were with the Dallas Cowboys. Dalton replaced an injured Dak Prescott in Week 5 and led the Cowboys to a game-winning field goal as time expired, living up to his “Red Rifle” nickname.
“He came in and just ran the show,” McGovern recalled. “It was like no skipping a beat. When he needed to be that guy, he was ready to take over.”
McGovern said Dalton’s ability to analyze defenses is what’s most impressive
“He sees the game very easily,” he said.
Bills linebacker Shaq Thompson witnessed what Dalton could do last season with the Panthers before leaving for Buffalo in the offseason.
“He’s definitely going to be the driver of the train of everything,” he said. “[The offense] might change up a little bit here and there, but Andy’s going to definitely run that offense how Andy’s supposed to run that offense.”
Dalton took over a Carolina offense last season that had totaled 13 points the first two games and led the Panthers to a 36-22 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders. Carolina lost the next four under Dalton, but it was the defense that was more to blame, as opponents averaged 36.3 points per game.
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Dalton is in a much better position to be successful this season. In 2024, the defense finished last in the NFL and the offense didn’t have nearly the weapons it does now. The 2025 defense ranks seventh in yards allowed per game (295.7) and 18th in points allowed per game (20.7). Last season, Carolina ranked last in both categories with 404.5 and 31.4, respectively.
Offensively, Carolina ranks 19th in total offense (326.7) and 23rd in scoring (20.7). In 2024, it ranked 29th in total offense (265.6) and 23rd in scoring (20.1). The biggest improvement is in their rushing attack, which rank third (140.1 yards per game), compared to 18th last season (110.5). That helped take pressure off of Young as it will for Dalton.
Wide receiver David Moore said the talent Dalton is surrounded by this season would rank an eight or nine out of 10 compared to a four or five last year.
“Last year, it was kind of a ‘who are we, where are we’ type deal,” Moore said. “This year we’re just finding ourselves. You see a lot of guys step up when it’s their turn.”
That happened in Weeks 5 and 6, when Rico Dowdle replaced injured Chuba Hubbard at running back. Dowdle had 473 scrimmage yards over those two games, setting a team record for a two-game stretch.
Canales said this season’s team gives Carolina a better chance to succeed, should Dalton start.
“If Andy does have to play, I have full confidence to be able to call a game the same way I would normally call it, and have balance and be attacking and aggressive in our spots,” he said. “He gives us a chance to keep pushing our football forward, which I love.”
Dalton actually pushes the deep ball more than Young. He showed a great rapport with wide receiver Xavier Legette after replacing Young late in the third quarter against the Jets. Five of his seven targets were directed at the 2024 first-round pick, who finished with a season-high nine catches for 92 yards and a touchdown. Tetairoa McMillan, the eighth pick of the 2025 draft, is confident he and Dalton can have a similar chemistry.
“We’re at a good spot for sure,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to catch a lot of passes from him when I first game to the Panthers.”
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What McMillan loves most about Dalton is his football wisdom.
“You can’t teach experience,” he said. “That’s something that separates Andy from a lot of quarterbacks in the league.”
Dalton still believes he has good years and games left in him. He’ll approach Sunday’s game as though he is the starter until he’s told he won’t be.
Age hasn’t impacted Dalton’s performance. He had a 52 Total QBR from 2011 to ’19 with the Bengals and has a 47 QBR in 35 starts since leaving. His collective winning percentage as a starter for the Cowboys, Bears, Saints and Panthers is only .400, though the collective winning percentage of those teams in games he didn’t start was .290.
Dalton admitted Young does more with his feet, but that’s not a concern.
“Don’t let Andy fool you,” offensive lineman Austin Corbett said. “He’s still got it. He’s still running around at practice doing it against the scout team for our defense.”
Dalton’s confidence is evident, whether it’s in practice, games or in the locker room, where his sense of humor keeps teammates loose.
He’s also confident he could have helped the Bengals. He admitted there was a brief conversation with Carolina general manager Dan Morgan and vice president of football operations Brandt Tillis about whether they’d be interested in trading him to Cincinnati after Burrow was injured. It was clear right way they weren’t going to, even if Dalton had wanted to return to the Bengals, who drafted him with the 35th pick in 2011.
“We’ve been happy here,” Dalton said. “Now, if this would have been my last year of playing football, I would have maybe considered it.”
ESPN Bills reporter Alaina Getzenberg contributed to this story.
