Panthers Elect to Keep Three QB's on 53-Man Roster
Finishing up a couple hours prior to the deadline, the Carolina Panthers finalized their 53-man roster and unsurprisingly kept both backup quarterbacks, Will Grier and P.J. Walker, on the active roster.
Teddy Bridgewater will lead the offense, but the backup job is still up for grabs and as head coach Matt Rhule eluded to, "if it goes into the season, it goes into the season."
Depth at quarterback has been an issue in Carolina for quite some time, but Rhule feels confident with the guys he has in that room, including both backups.
"Right now, we feel like we have three quarterbacks who can play, but right now this is Teddy’s show and he’s played really well so far so we’re going to keep pushing to get better with him and keep getting Will and P.J. better."
"We’re just trying to teach these two guys the system and so one day one might look really good and one day the other might look really good. A lot of guys, they go out there and they want to be perfect at all positions. They go out there and they don’t want to make mistakes. I’m the opposite - I’m encouraging them to make mistakes, but show what they can do and let the coaches correct it. Each day at every position, I think you see guys kind of cutting loose a little bit more, playing a little bit less in fear, a little bit more on the attack. So both of the quarterbacks have had some really good moments."
Walker is an intriguing player because he brings something to the table that the other two quarterbacks don't, which his escapability and elusiveness in the pocket. Even if Grier beats out Walker for the backup spot, don't be surprised if offensive coordinator Joe Brady has a package set up for him to keep the opposing defense off balance.
As far as who will win the backup job, I would have to lean towards Grier. He spun the ball really well during camp and his touch on his throws down the field looked a lot like his days at West Virginia. He looks more comfortable in this offense and he's not thinking anymore, he's just playing. Often times last year, Grier looked lost on the field but a lot of that had to do with not really having a firm grasp of the offense. A couple of weeks ago, he told reporters how this year is much different for him.
“The game has definitely slowed down. I think that’s just time, and experience, and reps. I think I’m seeing the field a lot better this year for a variety of different reasons. I feel more confident. I think the experience last year was good for just going into the offseason. It gave me a lot to learn from and a lot to build off of. I was able to be specific in what I was doing in the offseason to kind of get better. And I really think that, obviously I'm learning a new offense again, but it has come faster to me for whatever reason than it did last year. And I think part of that is just learning a new offense last year, it was my first time doing it. I went into it this year knowing the important things to learn the offense fast and go out there and be comfortable in practice. I picked it up a lot faster and I was better at preparing this year than I was last year in that aspect as well, which helps you play faster and see the field. It’s kind of a ripple effect.”
To help both Grier and Walker take their game to the next level, Teddy Bridgewater is doing all he can to help while leading the Carolina offense.
"He makes everybody better. He lights up the room, he's intelligent. His football IQ is through the roof," OC Joe Brady stated. "When we have a day like this, we're like Teddy, you're running the meetings. I think that's critical having a guy that understands a good amount of the system and what we're doing, but also has an idea of football and being able to explain it and teach it to others."
Matt Rhule also told reporters that Bridgewater created the playbook in Madden and was going over it with the other quarterbacks to get them more familiar with it.
This is a quarterback group that just wants to help each other get better and win football games, so it's easy to see why Rhule likes this room so much.
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