The Carolina Panthers are catching a couple of pretty big breaks early on in their 2026 schedule.
Today, they will visit the Atlanta Falcons—who will be starting
Cooper Rush at quarterback despite his having posted a 2.6 QBR in their Week 1 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. That's because Michael Penix Jr. is still recovering from last year's ACL tear, while Tua Tagovailoa is dealing with an oblique injury.After that, Carolina will go on the road to face the Cleveland Browns, the only team in the NFL with a worse quarterback situation than the Falcons.
For now, Deshaun Watson remains the Browns' starter despite a dismal opener against Jacksonville, having totaled just 202 passing yards and a 40.0 QBR that ranks 26th in the league. Watson may not
be starting for Cleveland anymore by time the Panthers come to call, though.
According to Ian Rapoport at ESPN, the Browns are contemplating a change under center for their Week 3 matchup with the Panthers. Rapoport writes:
Deshaun Watson will make his second straight start on the road to open the season for the Browns -- and after that, Cleveland will make its evaluation. While no firm decision has been made for Week 3, the belief is that the first two games would serve as a natural evaluation point. In other words, the Browns could use the return to Cleveland for their Week 3 home opener and a two-game sample size as the impetus for a quarterback change.
If the Browns do make a change, it'll mean that former Colorado star Shedeur Sanders would start in Watson's place.
Sanders was considered one of the top quarterbacks in the class of 2025, but he infamously slid to the fifth round of the draft. He wound up starting seven games for the Browns as a rookie, going 3-4 with a 56.6-percent completion rate, 1,400 passing yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
While Sanders didn't look great as a rookie, he wasn't exactly set up for success under former head coach Kevin Stefanski—now with the Falcons. With a new staff and a year of experience in place, Sanders may prove more formidable than he was in Year 1.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers Week 3 opponent contemplating change at QB
