Tony Pike

Matt Moore was easily the top quarterback at Panthers camp, and Tony Pike clearly was the fourth.

That became even more evident Tuesday, as Pike was almost completely out of the loop during team drills. Pike took next to no snaps during full-team action, yielding his reps to Jimmy Clausen and Hunter Cantwell, who have alternated with the second and third teams throughout camp. He still threw in individual drills, but his inactivity was obvious to anyone who saw practice.

The move underscores how far behind the other three quarterbacks Pike actually is, for a number of reasons.

Running a spread offense and playing out of the shotgun was one thing. The two-plus weeks of June workouts he missed because Cincinnati is on the quarter system is another.

It's not as if the Panthers think he has no future, he just might need time to catch up. But at the moment, time in practice is something he's not getting enough of, as they've chosen to invest in the other two backups.

Barring injury,Matt Moore is the Panther's #1 QB at the junction of preseason.