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CHARLOTTE — A.J. Feeley wanted to become a member of the Carolina Panthers for the long-term. But he doesn't want the starting job.

Such is the mindset of the quarterback who would replace Jake Delhomme.

Irate fans found out Wednesday there are no more Brett Favres out there. There aren't any more Jake Delhommes, either. When your starter goes bad, and your backup goes down in the opening game, you get A.J. Feeley.

This was hardly a move to improve the team's desperate situation at quarterback. This was hardly the news Panthers fans were waiting for, but it's not clear what they were waiting for to begin with. A franchise that suffered through Chris Weinke, Rodney Peete and Vinny Testaverde in recent years is hardly deserving of the fate that would be A.J. Feeley starting.

So forget that. He didn't even come here to start.

"Hopefully, I don't have to play this year," Feeley said Wednesday after his first NFL practice since 2007. "That's kind of the plan, if things go the way everybody wants them to go, with Jake playing."

Feeley, who was out of the league in 2008 after brief stints with Philadelphia, Miami and San Diego, has started 15 games in his truncated eight seasons. He doesn't know Carolina's offense, isn't in football shape and really only knows one player on the team — Delhomme.

"For me, it's going to take a few weeks," he said. "There's a learning curve with a new offense. I'll put the work in, and hopefully it comes to me sooner than later. I can't give you a timetable, but if you have to play, you have to play. Hopefully, that's not the case."

In other words, Feeley's not here to take his friend's job.

So why is he here? The performance by Delhomme in last week's 38-10 loss to the Eagles worried the Panthers' football people, but the injury to backup Josh McCown shook them. Faced with a six-week wait for his knee and foot injuries to heal, Carolina instead shelved him for the season.

"Six weeks is an eternity," coach John Fox said.

That doesn't say much for the future of No. 3 quarterback Matt Moore, either. The third-year pro who was forced into action his rookie season when the quarterback situation was even worse than it is now, hasn't been officially moved to No. 2 even after McCown was shelved.

"That'll be a game-time decision," Fox said of designating Moore or Feeley as the backup for Sunday's game at Atlanta. "With a week's work, we'll have to wait and see. We actually had a guy start around here with a week's work, so we'll play it day by day."

That was a reference to Testaverde, who arrived as an old man and was one of a host of quarterbacks who started in 2007 after Delhomme injured his throwing elbow. When it became apparent that Carolina needed someone Sunday night, the team considered a few available players and settled on Feeley.

Feeley, who'd been waiting for the phone to ring, had actually been called by the Eagles, too, after the strange day Sunday that saw five quarterbacks play in the Carolina-Philadelphia game. Feeley considered going back to the Eagles for a third time, but Philadelphia's acquisition of Michael Vick during the preseason was a big factor in his decision to come to Charlotte and play backup.

"I could see the writing was on the wall there," he said of the Eagles' situation. "I love those guys a lot. I love the place, but it's just time to move on."

Feeley's big opportunity came in 2004 when the Dolphins gave the Eagles a second-round draft pick for him. He never fit in, though, started eight games and was given to the Chargers midway through the 2005 season. In eight NFL seasons, Feeley has started 15 games and thrown 27 touchdowns passes and 29 interceptions. Simply put, he was not brought in to replace Delhomme or even McCown but to replace Moore.

"We'll just try to get him up to date," Fox said of the short-term plan. "He's a veteran guy. He's been around quite a bit, and now it's just a matter of learning our language and our terminology. He's played quarterback in the National Football League, so he knows what it takes. It'll be a crash course, but he'll come along."

That's hardly a ringing endorsement, but it's worse for Moore. And the real message is hidden within: Jake Delhomme is the starting quarterback for the Panthers, and he will remain the starting quarterback for the Panthers until he loses the support of Fox. That support was solid after last year, but waning after last week.

Delhomme will get a reprieve because he's Delhomme. Another disastrous performance Sunday and there's no telling what the Panthers will do. Moore would likely get the call, but Feeley is the new toy. And this is a team that has a history of wacky quarterback situations.

If all else fails, they probably still have Testaverde's number.

Contact Ed Hardin at 373-7069 or ed.hardin@news-record.com