David Carr

Will back up Eli Manning at quarterback.

Carr will most likely serve as the 49ers' backup quarterback for the 2010 season, but could face a challenge from Nate Davis during training camp.

Carr will again serve as Eli Manning's backup.

The former first overall pick will serve as Eli Manning's backup.

The Panthers inked Carr to a two-year deal this spring as nothing less than a nice insurance option should anything happen to starter Jake Delhomme again. The former No. 1 overall pick took an absolute pounding during his tenure in Houston, but he could impress with the talent around him in the Carolina offense if he's ever given a chance at the helm. Head coach John Fox has maintained throughout the offseason that Delhomme's job isn't up for grabs, but his tune could change if Delhomme struggles to adapt to new offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson's schemes or if the Panthers stumble out of the gates.

The coaching change has to help Carr, who was lost under the previous staff. Now, he will be schooled by head coach and former Denver offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak. The Broncos tendencies were not very inspiring: 25th in first down passing, 29th in pass percentage, 31st in red-zone pass percentage. The only mild good news with Carr is that just 14 percent of his throws were poor. On the other hand, he had 69 QB rating on 42 late/close throws. On 11-to-20 yard throws, he registered just a 56 QB rating. While he had a career-high 308 rushing yards last year, he carried the ball into the end zone only once. His YPA was under six again, even on first down. And just 8-of-48 red-zone throws were TDs, 7th worst in football. Carr took an absolute beating last year, getting sacked 68 times on 423 attempts and the Texans will have to do a better job protecting him if they hope to turn around their passing game.

A good athlete with quick feet and a strong arm, Carr came out of the gate strong in 2004, but absolutely fell apart during the season’s final eight games. During the second half, Carr threw for just 1,377 yards and seven touchdowns, with nine picks, 29 sacks and 6.3 yards per passing attempt. While Carr was bothered by minor ankle and neck injuries, we’re not sure that explains the steep decline in production. And it’s not as if the meltdown happened against the league’s best defenses, as the Texans faced the Colts twice, the Packers once and the Titans once in that span. For now, we’ll attribute it to Houston’s lack of depth beyond Andre Johnson at wideout and the overall pounding that Carr was subjected to over the course of the year. Just realize that 2005 will be Carr’s fourth year in the league, so if he doesn’t play more consistently soon, we might have to conclude that the problem lies with him.

The Texans have the skill players necessary to make a leap in offensive proficiency similar to that of the 2003 Bengals. Despite his paltry TD total, Carr averaged over seven yards per attempt before getting injured last year. Carr did take a step back in accuracy during ‘03 (16.3 percent poor throws vs. 12.4 his rookie year), but that decline could reasonably be attributed to his shoulder injury. Carr also has good mobility, averaging five yards per rush during his career with five TDs. Although he was among the worst QBs in interceptions per attempts, Carr is another attractive upside play.

The most impressive thing about Carr's rookie season is that he survived it in one piece. The Houston offensive line was awful from day one, and he wound up being sacked 76 times, a new NFL record. The toughest thing to swallow about Carr's rookie year was that he didn't throw any touchdown passes in the final six games. Normally you'd expect to see some improvement over the final third of a rookie year, but perhaps the physical pounding took its toll. Carr's passing stats should improve modestly in 2003, but he's not going to be a top-20 quarterback for at least one more year.