Haynes King’s ‘dream come true’ draws Russell Wilson comparison from coach

It’s not a stretch to say King was as prolific quarterbacking the Carolina Panthers at the NFL level in the preseason game as he was at Georgia Tech in winning ACC player of the year and ACC offensive player of the year honors last season.

Kings’ NFL teammates mobbed him after the game in celebration.

“I couldn’t breathe, that’s one thing, but it was amazing … being able to celebrate with the guys you’ve been in OTAs and all of training camp with,” King said, “and to finally go out there and celebrate with them and just showcase your talent is very fun.”

Credit: AP Photo/David Richard

Credit: AP Photo/David Richard

Carolina scored on five of the six drives after King entered the game in the second quarter with Arizona leading 14-7 — one drive ended with a running back fumble — and he proved clutch by converting on a third-and-10 and third-and-14 on the game-winning drive.

“It’s not just me, there’s 10 other guys that’s out there doing it. The linemen with the run game and pass blocking as well, just allowing me to go out there, and also give it to the guys to make plays,” King said, sharing the credit with teammates.

“On top of that. I feel like we were going out there like a selfless group, as well, a handful of guys made plays on the perimeter but were blocking as well.”

King’s 5-yard touchdown run on the final play of the game made all of the highlight reels, but it was his 26-yard run on a third-and-14 at the Arizona 43 with 39 seconds left that likely impressed his coaches and other NFL GMs the most.

Longview (Texas) High School coach John King — Haynes King’s father — had to be proud to see his son display great moxie with his decision to run through a defender to get out of bounds and stop the clock after taking a huge chunk of yardage on the scramble to put his team in position for, at the very least, what would have been a game-tying field goal.

“Once I got the first down, there was a lot of open space, and it was keep going and slide, or get out of bounds,” Haynes King said in describing the pivotal play. “I chose to try to get out of bounds and stop the clock, and try to regroup everybody.”

King said his logic on the fly was that it made more sense to stop the clock because it would give the offense time to regroup before the next play, which was several yards down the field.

Panthers head coach Dave Canales praised the rookie quarterback in his postgame news conference.

“These are things that he did throughout his career. And the bottom line is move the chains, and they were playing a lot of match coverage with one (line)backer inside, so they kind of just drained everybody out,” Canales said. “Typically you play a mobile quarterback like that, there’s someone spying for the quarterback, and they were playing pretty much like preseason coverages.

“He saw it open up, they had good coverage on it, and he took the yards and kept the drive alive, so that was a really good play.”

Canales compared King’s mobility to that of 10-time NFL Pro Bowl selection Russell Wilson, who he previously worked with as quarterbacks coach in Seattle.

“When you covered us well, (Wilson) took off and ran, and that was a good thing and we moved the chains, (and) when we called play-actions, he was just as likely to run the ball as he was to throw the ball downfield for an explosive (play), so there are different ways to make big plays in this game,” Canales said.

“There’s no formula, we’re not trying to make Haynes anything other than what he is, so letting him grow into that, and he’s made a concerted effort to be in timing and rhythm and you saw some of that, too.”

The game-winning touchdown run was vintage King.

“I was dropping back and it just kind of parted, and I was going to try to extend the play, because obviously it was the last play of the game,” King said, “And then (the defense) just kind of parted and the linebacker started closing space, and I was (thinking) I could get around him and score the ball.”

King’s running skills are well-documented, as he ran a 4.46-second time at the 2026 NFL combine and posted the fastest three-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle among all of the quarterbacks after a Tech career that saw him score 36 rushing touchdowns and amass more than 2,200 yards over his final three seasons.

King, however, went undrafted with NFL experts citing his age (25), relative lack of size (6-foot-2½, 212 pounds) and accuracy.

King signed a three-year, $3.11 million undrafted free-agent contract, of which only $250,000 is guaranteed, per Spotrac.

The Panthers currently have only three quarterbacks rostered, led by 2021 Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young with former 2022 first-round pick and Pittsburgh starter Kenny Pickett as the backup.

King’s performance bodes well for him moving forward, as he figures to see more action when Carolina plays at Buffalo on Aug. 15 and at Jacksonville on Aug. 21 before closing the preseason with a home game against the Houston Texans on Aug. 28.

“I’m very excited that I got this opportunity, and I feel like I went out there and operated at a high level,” King said, “and I feel like I affected a lot of people and improved and allowed everybody around me to play better, as well.”

A 2023 NFL bylaw allows each team to dress a 49th player as an inactive/emergency third quarterback for each game provided the player is on the 53-man roster.

Per the bylaw, the emergency third quarterback can only enter a game if the club’s two active quarterbacks are unable to play either by disqualification or injury.

Teams have until Aug. 30 to reduce their rosters to the final 53-man limit, after which they can establish their practice squads to 16 players, or 17 with an international “pathway” player.