CHARLOTTE — The Panthers brought back a key free agent Tuesday, signing backup quarterback Andy Dalton to a new two-year deal.

Dalton was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March.

The 37-year-old Dalton has appeared in nine games the last two seasons here and has thrown nine touchdowns and six interceptions while providing a trusted voice for Bryce Young in the quarterbacks room.

Dalton stepped in and started five games last season when Young struggled early in the year and led the team to its first win of the season against the Raiders. And after he was injured in a car wreck in November and Young got the job back, he supported the former No. 1 overall pick.

"Me and Andy are super close," Young said. "From when I first got here, just being able to talk with him through things, him having perspective on a situation that I had never been a part of, I was always leaning on him, always having conversations and just from a day-to-day basis.

"You can't add up the hours we spend here; we're here every single day, and just being able to have someone that you can bounce stuff off of, ask how you see things. Whether it's Xs and Os or it's philosophical things or stuff outside of football or somewhere nuanced in between. He is always there, just trying to help me out. And again, having a guy like that who really does it for the right reasons and wants to help, that's super rare. So I'm super grateful for that."

Of course, Dalton has value beyond his mentorship alone, as his performance against the Raiders, in particular, shows he can still play (319 yards and three touchdowns in that win).

In 14 seasons with the Bengals, Cowboys, Bears, Saints, and Panthers, Dalton has thrown for 39,500 yards, with 253 touchdowns and 150 interceptions, for a passer rating of 87.5.

He's 26th on the all-time passing yards list, ahead of Hall of Famers, including Jim Kelly, Steve Young, Troy Aikman, Kurt Warner, and Y.A. Tittle.

He's also 26th all-time in passing touchdowns, one behind Hall of Famer Dan Fouts on that list.