Panthers Shockingly Predicted to Sign 2x Pro Bowl QB to Back Bryce Young Up

The Carolina Panthers have expressed a desire for a new backup quarterback. Andy Dalton will be traded or, more likely, released at some point before training camp this summer. Someone else will back up Bryce Young.

Who could the Panthers be looking at? Well, GM Dan Morgan said he'd like some competition behind Young. He also said he wants someone younger, athletic, and able to make plays with their legs. A few names on the market come to mind.

Geno Smith isn't really one of them. We discussed why he wouldn't really be the right backup at this point, but one insider disagrees.

Panthers urged to sign Geno Smith to be their new backup QB

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) looks to throw in the first quarter | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Dave Canales coached Geno Smith in his breakout season with the Seattle Seahawks. Canales was the QB coach who helped a notorious draft bust finally break out.

It was his work there that got him the offensive coordinator job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to do the same thing he did with Smith with Baker Mayfield. It worked, and so the Carolina Panthers wanted him as head coach to do the same with Bryce Young.

Now, Young needs a new backup, and Smith was just cut after a dismal year with the Las Vegas Raiders. He is still a starting quarterback in this league, and his rough 2025 got better after Chip Kelly was fired.

To say he'd be a surprising candidate for Panthers' backup QB would be an understatement. Some teams will want to try him as a starter, so why would he sign with the Panthers to back up an ascending quarterback?

Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Still, because he did career-best work under Canales, the connection is there, even if he's probably a little older and less athletic than Dan Morgan had in mind. At least, that's FOX Sports analyst Greg Auman's take.

"Smith, 35, has dropped off considerably in the last two seasons with a combined 32 interceptions. He's a good veteran to pair cheaply with a young or rookie quarterback, a stopgap who can step in as needed. If he doesn't care about starting, he'd be a match for Carolina, with longtime Seattle assistant Dave Canales," Auman argued.

Smith will have plenty of salary guaranteed by the Raiders, so any team, be it the Panthers or another, will get him for cheap. That and his connection to Canales and Brad Idzik make him an interesting option.

However, do the Panthers really want to get younger by going from a 38-year-old Andy Dalton to a 35-year-old Geno Smith? Given the success he had in the Canales system, even if Idzik is taking over play-calling, it can't be ruled out. It would be a major curveball, though.