What Panthers coach Dave Canales said about signing QB Hendon Hooker

Carolina's head coach weighs in on the team's new third-string quarterback, former third-round draft pick Hendon Hooker.

Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (2) walks off the field after the 26-7 loss in the preseason game at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, August 23, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

At the end of the preseason it was clear that the Carolina Panthers needed to reevaluate their backup quarterback situation. Andy Dalton had an elbow injury, Bryce Perkins only had one half under his belt with this team and Jack Plummer had just bombed three straight games.

Dalton is still the team's primary backup behind starter Bryce Young, but both Perkins and Plummer were casualties when the roster was cut from 90 players down to 53 for the regular season. That opened up an opportunity for another QB to come in, and on Wednesday the team filled that hole with Hendon Hooker, who's joining the Panthers' practice squad. Here's what head coach Dave Canales had to say about the signing.

Dave Canales on Hendon Hooker

“Hendon Hooker is a guy that I loved in the process coming out of Tennessee. I had some great meetings with him. He really impressed me as a man, and a really high character guy with a lot of talent.” - Panthers head coach Dave Canales on signing former Vols QB Hendon Hooker pic.twitter.com/DSv0Gz5fae

— zach ragan (@zachTNT) August 28, 2025

Despite suffering a major knee injury the previous season, a lot of anlaysts were high on Hooker going into the 2023 NFL draft. His arm power and impressive stats at Tennessee made him one of the best QB prospects in that class.

However, Hooker has yet to really get a chance to show what he can do at the NFL level. Jared Goff has gotten all the starter reps for the Lions and Hooker has only seen very brief action, throwing a total of just nine passes in three games last season.

Hooker is unlikely to have a different situation in Carolina, where he will be a distant third on the depth chart. Unless Bryce Young suffers a season-ending injury and Dalton totally fails, he probably won't see the field except during the preseason.

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