The next five yards to the end zone, with people diving at him and the stadium erupting, became the most famous image of the whole Hall of Fame weekend. The Panthers beat the Cardinals 33–30, and King was the unexpected hero of a game that, just a week before, almost no one thot would be this important.
It’s impossible not to notice how well the scene fits with the story King has been writing all summer. There were already rumors from Panthers training camp that he was quietly getting attention. The coaches were there. Kenny Pickett, the veteran player he’s been competing with for the spot behind starter Bryce Young, was also there. Thursday nite proved what those rumors had been saying.
King finished the game 21 of 34 for 180 yards and two touchdowns. He ran three times for 39 yards and a touchdown, the last of which will be hard for everyone in the building to forget. He said he couldn’t even breathe when the game was over. That seems right. No one else watching could either.
There is a catch to the story, tho. King hurt his hamstring during the game, and according to Joe Person of The Athletic, he is now considered week-to-week. While he heals, the Panthers will likely get another quarterback. Unfortunately, the timing is cruel in the same way that football timing often is: a big performance right after an injury that changes everything.
What’s even stranger is that he played even tho he was hurt. If that’s true, which it seems to be based on the evidence, then the game-winning run looks different. Not just sports. It’s brave in a way that makes you think for a moment.
King hasn’t had an easy road up to this point. His first year at Texas A&M was 2020, but he only played in two games and was given a redshirt. He finally got a real chance to start in 2022. He played six games before getting hurt and missing the rest of the season, which cost him another year. Upon transferring to Georgia Tech, he played for three years and put up impressive numbers: 7,907 passing yards, 55 touchdowns, and 24 interceptions. These numbers were good enough to get attention, but not good enough for any team to spend a draft pick on him this spring.
It hurts to be undrafted. In that situation, everyone knows it, even if they don’t say it. King was a long shot when he came to Panthers camp, and he had something to prove. In a preseason game against Arizona, he made a case that was hard to argue with.
Still, the math for the roster is harsh. Young is the starting quarterback, and Pickett is likely to be the backup. People in the league think that King’s play helped his case, but probably not enough to change the outcome. There is room on a 53-person roster for two quarterbacks, or even three if a team is really unsure. At first glance, Carolina’s situation doesn’t leave much room for doubt.
King might end up on the practice squad. It’s possible that another team sees what was shown on Thursday. In Canton, Ohio, on a summer nite that not many people had marked on their calendars, something changed for him. Most quarterbacks would have thrown the ball away, but he ran toward the end zone. That’s important, even if the standings don’t show it yet.
There are three more preseason games for the Panthers to work this out. If King doesn’t hurt his hamstring, he might get more chances to make the choice harder. He might not, tho. Football doesn’t wait around for the right time very often.
