Jake Delhomme

Jake Delhomme's the grizzled vet who dragged the Panthers to a Super Bowl in '04 with 20,975 yards and 126 TDs, while Bryce Young's still dodging blitzes as the shiny new starter, chasing that first playoff sniff. Delhomme's got the ring and the scars; Young's got the arm talent but needs those Cardiac Cats guts to match it—Panthers faithful still whisper Jake's name when the pressure hits.

Nah, Jake Delhomme's not in Canton, and at this point, with 20,975 yards and 126 TDs over a journeyman career, he's not sniffing the Hall. Greatest Panther QB moment? That '04 Super Bowl run. But Hall voters love the volume guys—Delhomme's more cult hero than bust-engraver, forever the Cajun gunslinger who almost pulled it off.

In 2026, Delhomme's back in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, breeding racehorses like a boss—his mare Touchuponastar just raked in nearly $1.7 million under brother Jeff's training, and he's still dipping into banking. Catch him on WFNZ radio breaking down Panthers games or hawking Bojangles' like it's fourth-and-goal. Retirement suits the old QB just fine.

Delhomme's gunslinger arm—think 4,800 yards and 30 picks in that '03 breakout—would feast under today's pass-happy rules with no mugging receivers and quick releases rewarded. His mobility was meh, but zip on deep balls to Steve Smith? Modern D's couldn't touch it. He'd be a poor man's Matt Ryan, flirting with 4,000-yard seasons in this era.

Delhomme edges Cam Newton with a 39.42 career passer rating to Cam's 38.03, both anchoring Panther lore—Jake's the underdog who hit Super Bowl XXXVIII, Cam the MVP bulldozer with 2015's NFC title. Delhomme's pure arm sparked the Cardiac Cats; Newton's legs terrorized. Two Breaux Bridge bridges to nowhere, but damn if they didn't electrify Bank of America Stadium.