The Panthers have signed RB DeCori Birmingham to the practice squad.  Birmingham was impressive for the Panthers during the preseason as he carried the ball 29 times for 117 yards (4.0 ypc) and caught 3 passes for 39 yards (13.0 avg).  Unless the Panthers suffer multiple injuries it’s doubtful that Birmingham will get much of a chance this season as they are loaded at RB.  But, it was nice of the Panthers to reward Birmingham for a job well done.

I have a feeling that Jake Delhomme and Julius Peppers are in for huge seasons.  With that in mind this number is way too low for the Panthers.  I see them possibly winning 10 or more games this season so I would make a huge bet on the over and hope that the key players on the team stay healthy all year long.

The Panthers have released QB Brett Basanez.  Basanez completed 11 of 18 passes (61.1%) in the preseason for 135 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception (79.6 QB Rating).  With Josh McCown coming to town the Panthers didn’t feel the need to keep Basanez around.  Basanez played in 1 real game in his career with the Panthers and he completed 6 of 11 passes (54.5%) for 56 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 interception (30.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for 2 yards.  The Panthers won’t miss Basanez at all as he didn’t have much of an upside.

The Panthers didn’t wait around after 2nd string QB Matt Moore was banged up in the teams’ last preseason game.  The Panthers acquired the 29-year old McCown for a late 2009 Draft Pick.  McCown played in 9 games (all starts) for the Raiders last season and he completed 111 of 190 passes (58.4%) for 1,151 yards with 10 TD passes and 11 interceptions (69.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 29 times for 143 yards (4.9 ypc) last season in Oakland.  McCown is a capable backup but the Panthers would still be in trouble if Jake Delhomme gets injured.  McCown has now played in 44 games (31 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 609 of 1,052 passes (57.9%) for 6,582 yards with 35 TD passes and 40 interceptions (71.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 123 times for 572 yards (4.7 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his career.  This was a solid move for the Panthers as McCown adds experienced depth for a cheap price.

The Panthers are a little banged up at WR heading into the season so they have signed Samie Parker to help out.  Parker played in 15 games for the Chiefs last season and he caught 24 passes for 298 yards (12.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He will likely be nothing more than a #3 or #4 WR on the Panthers but that’s probably good enough for him.  Parker has now played in 47 games in his NFL career and he has caught 110 passes for 1,529 yards (13.9 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  This was a good signing for the Panthers.