Named the starter the week of the regular season opener versus Baltimore (9/8), he completed 12-of-19 passes for 136 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions against the Ravens. He directed an offense that did not commit a turnover and maintained possession for 33:51. When Rodney took the field against the Ravens, he became Carolina's third different starting quarterback to open the regular season in the last three years and made his first start since 1998 when he started for Philadelphia versus Dallas on Monday Night Football (11/2/98). He left that game early due to a lacerated right index finger, and the Baltimore contest marked only the fifth game he had appeared in since that time. It also marked his first game action since playing one down for Oakland versus Denver (12/5/01) in place of an injured Rich Gannon. Versus Detroit (9/15), Rodney produced his third career 300-yard passing game with 310 yards and one touchdown on 21-of-32 passing with no interceptions and rushed once for no yards. His lone touchdown pass was a 22-yarder to Muhsin Muhammad, and he directed the offense to its second consecutive turnover-free game while improving his record to 3-0 as a starter against the Lions, the team that drafted him in the sixth round in 1989. Rodney completed 20-of-30 passes for 221 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions at Minnesota (9/22), helping Carolina improve its record to 3-0 and match the best start in team history, which occurred in 1996. After throwing two interceptions in a scoreless first half for the Panthers offense, Rodney completed six-of-nine passes for 112 yards and one touchdown in the second half and guided the offense to three touchdowns in overcoming a 7-0 first-half deficit. Moreover, he completed 11-of-16 passes for 135 yards and one touchdown after throwing his second interception. Rodney completed 10-of-24 passes for 202 yards and no touchdowns with no interceptions and lost one yard on a rushing attempt at Green Bay (9/29). Included in his total was a 61-yard completion to Steve Smith. He connected on 20-of-34 passes for 196 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions and rushed twice for six yards versus Arizona (10/6). Rodney was successful on nine-of-15 pass attempts for 84 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown to Brad Hoover, and ran twice for nine yards at Dallas (10/13). He suffered a concussion in the first half against the Cowboys and did not play in the second half. Rodney underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee (10/15) that caused him to be inactive at Atlanta (10/20) and versus Tampa Bay (10/27). He returned versus New Orleans (11/10) and threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns on 23-of-40 passing with one interception in addition to one rush for one yard. His 23 completions and 40 pass attempts were season highs and his touchdown passes were three yards to Jermaine Wiggins and 15 yards to Wesley Walls as he registered his second 300-yard passing effort of the season and fourth of his career. After Rodney completed 22-of-38 passes for 205 yards and a 20-yard touchdown to Smith with a season-high three interceptions at Tampa Bay (11/17), he completed six-of-11 passes for 64 yards and no touchdowns with two interceptions in addition to rushing once for 10 yards versus Atlanta (11/24) before being replaced in the second half by Chris Weinke. Rodney connected on eight-of-17 passes for 89 yards and a 24-yard touchdown to Walls with one interception at Cleveland (12/1) and lost three yards on three rushing attempts against the Browns. He amassed season-highs of 319 yards passing, three touchdown passes and a season-high 72.4 percent completion rate on 21-of-29 passing with one interception versus Cincinnati (12/8) and lost a yard on two rushing attempts against the Bengals. His touchdown throws were 31 yards to Smith, two yards to Muhammad and two yards to Walls as he posted his third 300-yard passing game of the season, a personal best, and the fifth of his career. After completing just six-of-13 passes for 82 yards and no touchdowns with an interception in the first half, Rodney completed 15-of-16 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in the second half. He also guided the offense to 29 of the Panthers 36 second-half points and season-highs of 401 total net yards and 23 first downs. The 36 points generated by Carolina were the most points scored in one half in team history. Rodney completed 14-of-27 passes for 112 yards and a six-yard touchdown to Dee Brown with no interceptions at Pittsburgh (12/15) and also ran twice for no yards. The offense maintained possession for a season-high 36:50 versus Chicago (12/22) as Rodney completed 18-of-35 passes for 179 yards and a three-yard touchdown to Muhammad with no interceptions and lost four yards on three rushing attempts. He connected on 19-of-30 passes for 203 yards and a 15-yard touchdown to Hoover with two interceptions at New Orleans (12/29) and also ran twice for one yard.