Panthers To Release QB Kyle Trask

However, it sounds like the sixth-year veteran may remain on speed dial, as Fowler says a role as the emergency third QB from a practice squad position could be in the cards. The former Buccaneers backup will be behind Bryce Young and free agency addition Kenny Pickett in that case.

Once seen as a potential successor to Tom Brady in Tampa, Trask’s career has not materialized as hoped, as he sat behind Brady and then Baker Mayfield while with the Bucs. The 2021 second-rounder threw a grand total of 11 regular season passes as a member of the club, and he spent much of the 2025 season unemployed before signing with the Falcons’ taxi squad in November.

The Saints brought him in for a tryout in May, and the Panthers did the same in late July. Carolina UDFA rookie passer Haynes King then suffered a hamstring injury in this year’s Hall of Fame Game, which prompted the Panthers to bring Trask aboard.

According to Joseph Person of The Athletic, King believed he could have played in Friday’s preseason finale, but the coaching staff wanted to play it safe with his hamstring injury. While King said the team had not tipped its hand one way or another with respect to his roster status, that type of precautionary measure suggests the Panthers want to retain the young signal-caller. Indeed, Person predicted Carolina would retain King and jettison Trask.

The Trask release is obviously good news for King, although the Panthers could choose to place him on IR or try to sneak him through waivers in the hopes of keeping him on the taxi squad. If he ends up on IR, or if he is waived and claimed by another club, Trask could be back.