Panthers Reportedly Trading Backup Qb Andy Dalton To Eagles In Exchange For 2027 Seventh-round Pick

The Carolina Panthers are trading backup quarterback Andy Dalton to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a 2027 seventh-round pick, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Wednesday.

Dalton, 38, has spent the past three seasons with the Panthers. During that span, he’s mostly backed up Bryce Young. However, the former longtime Cincinnati Bengals starter wound up getting the nod seven times in Carolina.

Five of those starting opportunities came in 2024 when Young was struggling mightily. But Dalton’s car-crash thumb injury thrust Young back into the QB1 role, and Young hasn’t looked back since.

Tanner McKee is currently the Eagles' QB2 behind three-time Pro Bowler Jalen Hurts, but with Dalton joining the room, it's possible Philadelphia deals McKee this offseason.

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The 25-year-old McKee has developed under Hurts and started two games in his place. A 2023 sixth-round pick from Stanford, McKee turned heads late in the 2024 season when he made a pair of appearances. First he replaced an injured Kenny Pickett — who had started in place of a concussed Hurts — during a Week 17 rout of the Dallas Cowboys. Two of McKee's four passes that day resulted in touchdowns.

The following week, McKee got his first career start in the regular-season finale and completed 27-of-41 passes, throwing for 269 yards and a pair of scores in another win, that time versus the New York Giants.

The Eagles sent Pickett to the Cleveland Browns last offseason, and McKee took on the second-string role full-time. Speaking of Pickett, he signed with the Panthers in free agency last week.

In McKee's lone start during the 2025 campaign, the 6-foot-6 signal-caller tossed one touchdown and one pick in a Week 18 defeat to the Washington Commanders.

If Eagles general manager Howie Roseman doesn't end up trading McKee, Philadelphia will enter the season with one of the more robust quarterback rooms in the league.

Sam Howell, who was Philadelphia's third-stringer last season, signed with the Cowboys in free agency. 

At this point of Dalton's career, he's embraced a supporting role. Even after Young reclaimed his spot atop the depth chart in 2024, Dalton re-signed with Carolina on a two-year contract.

Dalton began his career in Cincinnati. The Bengals drafted him in the second round out of TCU in 2011. He made the Pro Bowl three times during his nine-season run as the team's starter. He led Cincinnati to two AFC North titles and five playoff appearances.

Since, he's bounced around the league, riding the backup quarterback carousel that's included stops with the Cowboys (2020), Chicago Bears (2021), New Orleans Saints (2022), Panthers (2023-25) and now Eagles.

The 2026 season will be Dalton's 16th in the NFL.