CHARLOTTE — Before the Panthers could begin practice on Monday, there were some introductions to be made.

Quarterback Bryce Perkins, coming off an MVP season with the Michigan Panthers of the UFL, walked around the assembled offense, shaking hands with the offensive lineman and receivers — he'd already met his fellow QBs during the morning position meeting — introducing himself to his new teammates, before jumping right into drills.

Perkins was brought in on Sunday, and signed Monday morning to be the fourth quarterback for Carolina this week. He's a need considering Andy Dalton's elbow injury during Saturday's preseason game against the Texans and the decision to rest Bryce Young and the starters against the Steelers, leaving Jack Plummer as the only other quarterback likely to play Thursday.

It was a whirlwind 48 hours for Perkins, with his agent first calling him on Saturday afternoon and him boarding a plane Sunday morning. But after two days of chaos, the moment he was able to step on the practice field and take that first snap, everything fell back into order.

"It's good when you get the practice script, you get the game plans, you can do a pretty good job of learning the basics of everything," Perkins explained following Monday's training camp practice, his first of two this week.

Perkins brings some experience and a different look to the quarterback room ahead of Thursday's final preseason matchup. And Perkins has experience in a similar scheme, having spent three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams.

"I was in LA for a few years, so kind of similar stuff, carryovers, just different names," Perkins explained. "The biggest focus is just getting the basics, get the call right, know where you're going, and then once you feel comfortable with that, we'll see how down pack I can get it before Thursday to be able to feel confident about playing off of different things and different nuances within the same scheme.

And after three years of having to learn Sean McVay's notoriously long play calls, he has ample verbiage from which to pull when cramming for a game plan in three days.

"The hardest part is you have a long play call, right? If you have like, say 'Double right, fake Ocho Charlie, fly, keep right, Y-sail, something something' and then you'll can it with a whole other long play call and it'll be like, man, it gets hectic," laughed Perkins, giving a small example of what he spent three years calling and how it helps him now.

"I start off with like, 'OK, well, have I called this play before?' And then kind of try to get that word association with that play, and try to match it up like that. But other than that, I mean, been in a system where sometimes you have to learn long play calls so it kind of helps — you don't really realize that it helps until you go somewhere new and you have to learn a few different things on the fly."

Perkins is coming off an incredible UFL season, winning MVP of the league and taking the Panthers to the championship game. Despite missing three games with an ankle injury, he still dominated the stats, going 150-218 passing (69 percent) for 1,918 yards and 14 touchdowns, only throwing three interceptions in the regular and postseason. He also added 310 rushing yards and six scores on 59 carries.

It's an accomplishment that should, and will, stand on its own. But Perkins also knows it was a time of development, a chance to fine-tune his game in hopes of being back in the NFL, better than ever.

"Really worked on like post-snap reads, being able to see the field. I think I see the field a lot better," Perkins shared. "I think I can throw — a lot more accurately with my throwing, and I'm stronger, a lot more zip on the ball. But really being able to post-snap recognition, see the field, and work the pocket, that's kind of some of the things I really worked on."

Now, he gets a chance to put that on display in what he knowingly admits is an audition Thursday night for both the Panthers and 31 other teams. It's why getting as much of the offense down as possible is so important, for his own self, and everyone else on the bubble who is also looking to put together solid tape in their last preseason game.

"UFL was great, you know, there's always some things like, OK, it's the UFL, right, but there's really great talent in the UFL, but kind of outside looking in, some people may think that. So, show the development of my game and the progression of how I've improved as a player since my last stint in the NFL, and put some good tape out there, and let it go.

"And also, you know, coming in as a new guy too, a lot of guys that I'm on the field with are trying to make—they're auditioning, they're trying to make the team as well, so I got to do my part for them so I can help them out. I can't be out here slacking."

And for the Panthers, it's a chance to see the dual-threat quarterback up close in his return to the league.

"It's great to just be able to reward somebody who's gone to another league, played so well, but also spent three years with the Rams," said coach Dave Canales.

"There is some carryover, some of the words are familiar to him, but it's kind of a marriage of two different systems. But football's football, and he's played a lot of it; he's played significant snaps, and so I'm excited for him to be here."