CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Andy Dalton had just picked up his kids from school on Tuesday’s off day and was headed home, then off to a tennis lesson and a baseball game.
In addition to his wife and three children, Dalton also had his dog in the Tesla. And then, a couple miles from his family’s home in south Charlotte, the vehicle Dalton was driving collided with another vehicle and everything with the Carolina Panthers quarterback situation changed.
Or it didn’t.
Before delving into the football impact of Tuesday’s events, let’s first say this: Dalton’s family and the other driver were extremely fortunate that the worst thing to come out of the two-vehicle crash was the sprained thumb on Dalton’s throwing hand.
“It was scary,” Dalton said. “First time for (his children) to go through something like that. They were pretty shaken up by it. Everybody’s healthy, which was the No. 1 thing we were thankful for.”
Panthers coach Dave Canales, quarterback Bryce Young and Dalton’s teammates all felt the same when they learned that the 36-year-old Dalton, nicknamed the “Red Rifle,” had been in an accident.
“I think everybody needs to be really sensitive to what’s going on,” veteran tight end Jordan Matthews said. “It wasn’t just Andy in that car. It was Andy,…
