Why Can Andy Dalton Play an Important Role with Carolina This Season?

By
Scott Jensen
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60

Veteran quarterback Andy Dalton is now with his fifth NFL franchise after signing a two-year deal with the Carolina Panthers. It remains unclear who will be the starting QB in North Charlotte on week one, but whoever that may be, Dalton has an important role to play.


Having played 166 regular games and four postseason matches in the NFL, Dalton has a wealth of experience. Many of the teams the veteran has featured in have struggled, yet he still has a winning career record of 83-77-2.

Panthers Looking Forward to Positive Season

Carolina goes into the 2023/24 NFL season at +430 in the betting with paddypower.com to win the NFC South title. It has been eight years since they last won their division, but after showing signs of improvement in 2022, this could be the season to end that wait for success.

The Panthers begin their campaign against the Atlanta Falcons, and they are likely to be one of the leading betting tips for week one of the campaign. They beat their divisional rivals 25-15 the last time they met, and with the Falcons also going through a transitional phase themselves, it may be a good time to play them.

Dalton will be doing all he can during the offseason to try and earn the starting QB role. If he isn’t selected in week one, he is a great player for head coach Frank Reich to turn to should things go wrong in the early stages of the season.

Bengals Success for Dalton

The majority of Dalton’s career has been played in Cincinnati. He was selected by the Bengals in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. His best campaign for the AFC North team came in 2013 when he led them to an 11-5 year. 

Dalton was named a Pro Bowler on three occasions during his time in Cincinnati. They had five consecutive playoff appearances between 2011 and 2015 while he was their starting QB.

When he left Cincinnati in 2019, Dalton did so having broken many franchise records, including most passing yards in a season, most passing touchdowns in a season, and most career passing touchdowns. He continues to be thought of fondly by Cincinnati fans.

Dalton Was a Regular Stater in 2022

The experienced QB arrives at the Panthers having played 14 games for the New Orleans Saints in 2022. As you can read at nfl.com, he completed 252 of his 378 pass attempts, leaving him with a career-high percentage of 66.7%. Those numbers suggest he can still deliver in the NFL.


Although the Saints ended the campaign with a losing record of 7-10 record, the blame was not put on the QB’s shoulders. He came into the team in week four after the franchise made a slow start and he gave New Orleans fans something to cheer about with some early success.

This may be Dalton’s last spell in the NFL, so he will be doing all he can to help the franchise get to the Super Bowl, even if that is with support from the sidelines.

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