In the 27-year history of the Carolina Panthers as an NFL franchise, 21 different men have been a starting quaterback.
The team appears to have No. 22, as Carolina traded for Cleveland Browns’ quarterback Baker Mayfield on Wednesday.
From Kerry Collins taking the first snaps in tam history in 1995, to Sam Darnold throwing an interception on the final offensive play of the 2021 season, it’s been quite a wild ride for Carolina Panthers at the quarterback position.
Here’s a look at all 21 of those quarterbacks, starting with the most recent, and working backward.
Sam Darnold
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Darnold came in to Carolina with a lot of hype, but fizzled in the 2021 season, going just 4-7. He may still contend for the starting spot with Baker Mayfield in 2022… if he’s still around.
Cam Newton
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
It might be hard to remember, but Superman was back in Carolina for part of last season… but he lost all five games he started. It was pretty forgettable, as Cam Newton is a shell of the player who dominated as the Panthers’ starter from 2011-2018. He was 68-60-1 overall, the winningest record in team history, with a remarkable 2015 season that saw him named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player. The Panthers made the Super Bowl that year, but lost to the Denver Broncos, 24-10.
P.J. Walker
(Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
All hail the greatest quarterback in Carolina Panthers history! Well, sort of. P.J. Walker started just one game in each of the 2020 and 2021 seasons for the Panthers, but he won BOTH of them, giving him the greatest winning percentage in team history. We’ll just ignore the fact that in eight total NFL appearances, he’s thrown just one touchdown and six interceptions.
Teddy Bridgewater
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Poor Teddy Bridgewater. He’s had a career filled with “man, he could be great” moments, but he’s just been mediocre. He did start 15 of the 16 games for the 2020 Carolina Panthers, going just 4-11 in those outings.
Will Grier
(Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
Sometimes, you’re just the warm body that has to take the snaps. Grier started two games in the 2019 season, losing both.
Kyle Allen
(Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Allen is best known for being the man that essentially ended Cam Newton’s Panthers’ career (minus the whole debacle in 2021). Allen came in for an injured Newton in Week 3 of 2019 and proceeded to win his first five games, making people start going “Cam who?” Overall, he started 13 total games for the Panthers, and appeared in two others. He was a serviceable 6-7 in those starts.
Taylor Heinicke
(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Long before Taylor Heinicke became a Washington Football Team legend, he was a Carolina Panthers legend. OK, so maybe that’s a stretch, but he made enough of an impression on Ron Rivera, that he brought him to Washington, after having coached him in Charlotte. He was 0-1 in one start and six appearances as a Panther.
Derek Anderson
(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
There was a time when Derek Anderson was a hot commodity around the NFL. That time was unfortunately before he was a Panther. Anderson made two spot starts in 2014 and 2016, serving as Newton’s backup for the 2014-2016 seasons. He was 2-2 in his four starts.
Brian St. Pierre
(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Only real fans remember the Brian St. Pierre days (ok, so day) for the Panthers. St. Pierre went from practice squad to starter in a matter of two days. He had only 5 passes THROWN in his NFL career before being called on to start one game for Carolina in 2010. He finished 13-28, for 173 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in his one appearance. He sadly lost that.
Jimmy Clausen
(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Jimmy Clausen came into the NFL with the normal hype of a Notre Dame quarterback. But after he surprisingly dropped to the second round (behind first rounders Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow), the Panthers gobbled him up. Not much of an expense to back up Matt Moore. But… Matt Moore was a train wreck in the 2010 season, and Clausen was the starter by Game 3. Best known for pissing off Steve Smith, the cocky Clausen went 1-9 as the starter that season, and was quickly relegated to watching from the bench when the Panthers selected Cam Newton in the 2011 draft.
Matt Moore
(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Matt Moore’s Wikipedia page has his history as a youth football player on it. That sums it all up for Matty Ice. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t drafted out of college, didn’t make the team as a rookie with the Cowboys and sat behind Jake Delhomme and David Carr, likely just mixing Gatorade to start the 2007 season. Ultimately Moore played in 22 games as a Panther, spot starting in 2007, 2009 and 2010. He was 7-6 in those starts, including a remarkable 4-1 in the 2009 season.
David Carr
(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
After being sacked 249 times in five years as the starter for the Houston Texans, the former No. 1 pick in the draft, Carr was happy to get out of Houston for a bit. With six glorious appearances and four starts in 2007, Carr was primarily a backup to Jake Delhomme. But a back injury on one of the 13 sacks he took that season, he didn’t really play anymore. He was 1-3 in his four starts.
Vinny Testaverde
(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Oh hey, look, another first overall pick who ended up playing QB for the Panthers. Vinny was a legend in Tampa and New York (among other stops) before his Carolina days. But Testaverde filled in affably for the injured Jake Delhomme and David Carr for part of that 2007 season. He became the second-oldest starting QB in NFL history that year, but finished 2-4 as a starter before finally calling it a career.
Jake Delhomme
(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)
Long before the days of Cam being the face of the franchise, there was Jake. From humble beginnings as a backup for the Saints, Delhomme came to the Panthers in 2003. Rodney Peete started that opener, before Jake took over and brought the team back from a 14-0 deficit to win. He never looked back, and led the Panthers to the Super Bowl. They lost that game to the Patriots, but it cemented a legacy.
But then… things went south fast. An injury in 2007 started the decline, and he was never the same. He eventually was released in the 2010 offseason, notably after becoming well known for the number of touchdowns he was giving the other team. A six-turnover game in January of 2009 was the icing on that cake.
He did finish his Panthers’ tenure with 53 wins and 37 losses, the highest win percentage in team history for someone not named P.J. Walker.
Randy Fasani
(Photo by Erik S. Lesser/Getty Images)
Photos exist and there is a Wikipedia page, but if it weren’t for those, we wouldn’t even know Randy Fasani existed. The fifth-round draft pick in the 2002 NFL Draft out of Stanford, Fasani. He started one game and went 5-18 for 47 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. One of the worst starts in NFL history. But hey, what have you done in your NFL career?
Rodney Peete
(Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
In the twilight of his career, Rodney Peete had a cup of coffee in Charlotte. Peete was the surprising starter over Chris Weinke in 2002, going 7-7. He started one game in 2003 and won it, before finally retiring after the 2004 season, where he made just one brief appearance off the bench.
Matt Lytle
(Elsa/ALLSPORT)
For one glorious week, Matt Lytle got to live out every quarterback’s dream: Starting in the NFL. Lytle started that one game in 2001 after Chris Weinke and Dameyune Craig went down with injuries. The Panthers got waxed in that one game. Poor Matt.
Chris Weinke
(Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
When professional baseball didn’t work out for Chris Weinke, he gave football a try. He excelled at both sports before turning professional in them. Not so much after. Weinke was the Panthers’ starter in 2001 and 2002, setting such dubious records as: Interceptions in a rookie season (19), interceptions in a rookie game (4) and times sacked in a rookie game (8). He also “led” the team to 11 straight losses in 2001, then a single-season record. He was 2-17 as a Panthers starter.
Steve Beuerlein
(Elsa Hasch /Allsport)
Originally signed in 1996 as a backup for Kerry Collins, Beuerlein played in 59 games for the Panthers over the 1996-2000 seasons. He started 51 of those and was 23-28 in those starts. He does still hold a number of passing records for the Panthers.
Frank Reich
(Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
Frank Reich played just three games as a starter for the panthers in the 1995 season. He lost all three of those games.
Kerry Collins
(Rick Stewart / Allsport)
Kerry Collins took the first snaps in team history and finished his career 22-20 as the Panthers’ starter, leading them to the NFC Championship in just his second year. He played in parts of four seasons for Carolina: 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998.