Panthers weighing options as quarterback hunt continues

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Carolina Panthers have made no secret about their plans to address their unstable quarterback situation again this offseason.

Team officials have already met with free agent quarterback Derek Carr and six draft eligible QBs — Alabama’s Bryce Young, Kentucky’s Will Levis, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker, TCU’s Max Duggan and Florida’s Anthony Richardson – this week in Indianapolis. The Panthers have the ninth overall pick in the NFL draft.

The team now must decide whether to sign Carr, who turns 32 this month, or draft a young quarterback – or perhaps both.

“We have to see if this is the right fit, if this is an answer,” Panthers first-year coach Frank Reich said of Carr. “Part of that is, yes, this is a good option. But we have to look at all our options and this is the time of the year that we do that.”

General manager Scott Fitterer said he “doesn’t think it’s wrong” to go the veteran QB route, but added in an “ideal world,” the Panthers would like to draft and develop a quarterback.

The only quarterback currently under contract for the Panthers is Matt Corral, a third-round pick in 2022 who missed all of 2022 with a foot injury.

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