Panthers head coach John Fox has had some very nice comments about newly acquired back-up quarterback Josh McCown. Fox still remembers how McCown performed the one time he faced him while McCown was still with the Cardinals:

"He caused us fits," Fox said. "He's a good athlete, good size, and a lively arm. For whatever reason, I remember the one game out there he played well against us."

Fox apparently has also taken an interest in McCown’s travels this past off-season.

"I thought he had played very well when they made a change when they were here," Fox said. "We followed him in Detroit and followed him Oakland and we talked about him this past offseason."

 

 

 

So knowing that the Panthers would prefer to only carry two quarterbacks it makes me wonder if former #2 QB Matt Moore might get the heave-ho once McCown gets a feel for the playbook. I say “former” because if Moore can’t go against the Chargers due to his leg injury then of course McCown would move up.

 

Of course McCown might fit into that “no upside” category we’ve been discussing since the roster cuts were announced. Here are some of his stats as a starting QB:

McCown brings an experienced, if unspectacular resume. His best season in the NFL was the year he got benched in Carolina. He started a career-high 13 games and had 11 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions.

He has a career passer rating of 71.6, and his main problem has been turnovers. He has 40 career interceptions to his 35 TD passes and has fumbled 39 times, losing 14.

When examining is career though you have to consider McCown has yet to play for a winning team and I’m sure many of those fumbles are from getting blind-sided by a pass rush. If he had protection it may have been a different story.

All I have to say is Matt Moore better get healed in a hurry or all the “upside” he has may not matter since his boss has taken quite a liking to his “temporary” replacement. The NFL is a dog-eat-dog world and the Panthers have never hesitated to dump one dog for another if it suits there purpose.