But Coach John Fox isn't lacking in faith when it comes to backups Matt Moore and Brett Basanez if something were to happen to Delhomme, who is coming off Tommy John surgery on his elbow.

"Anytime you have a young player they need to continue to develop," Fox said. "But I think Matt showed in those three games he started last year that he's capable of being a quarterback in this league. Where that ends I don't know. That will be up to him and his development."

So no, it doesn't sound like the Panthers will be adding Daunte Culpepper or Byron Leftwich. And no, it seems unlikely they will try to trade for Chris Simms.

"We weren't sure that if we went out and got a veteran that we would be all that much further along," Fox said.

Moore, in his second season, has started three games. Basanez, in his third year, has started none.

Delhomme missed three games late in the 2006 season with a thumb injury, a loss that possibly cost the team a playoff spot just when the offense was beginning to get on track. Last year, he played only three games before injuring his right elbow, the end result being Tommy John surgery.

We all know what happened last year.

It was a disaster.

The Panthers played musical quarterbacks every week, sometimes not knowing until game day who would take snaps from center - a head case, a 44-year-old with a two bad Achilles heels or an undrafted rookie.

Yet, the team has done nothing to fill the void following the retirement of Vinny Testaverde and the much-anticipated departure of David Carr, who was a complete flop in Carolina. They didn't add any veteran quarterbacks in free agency and didn't draft one either.

That's largely because Fox and general manager Marty Hurney feel like Moore, and to a lesser degree Basanez, are ready to take the next step.

"And when you do that you take away reps from that young guy developing. So it's kind of a catch-22, but we feel pretty good about Matt Moore at this stage," Fox said.