Panthers Go With BC Grad St. Pierre

Brian St. Pierre has thrown five passes in eight NFL seasons. He wasn’t in a training camp this summer and as recently as last week was a stay-at-home dad.

On Sunday, he’ll start at quarterback for the Carolina Panthers.

A season of anemic offensive play, multiple injuries, and one victory took an even stranger twist yesterday when Panthers coach John Fox picked the 30-year-old St. Pierre over rookie Tony Pike to play against Baltimore.

“The guy has been in some games,’’ Fox said.

That’s good enough these days to start for Carolina (1-8), the NFL’s lowest-scoring team, which has just nine touchdowns and no healthy, experienced quarterback.

Rookie Jimmy Clausen missed practice again yesterday because of a concussion sustained last Sunday against Tampa Bay. Matt Moore was lost to a season-ending shoulder injury last week.

Pike is a sixth-round pick from Cincinnati who has appeared in one game. Fox doesn’t think he’s ready to start.

Enter St. Pierre, a former St. John’s Prep and Boston College star who since being a fifth-round pick of the Steelers in 2003 is 2 of 5 for 12 yards, a touchdown, and an interception with three teams.

“I know what the situation looks like to everyone,’’ St. Pierre said. “I’m not going to complain about it.’’

The Panthers had a similar situation in 2007, when they brought in 43-year-old Vinny Testaverde on a Tuesday and he won a game the next Sunday.

“John Fox came in to me on Wednesday and said, ‘Vinny Testaverde came in and did this three years ago,’ ’’ St. Pierre said. “And I said, ‘Well, Vinny has a little better résumé than I do.’ ’’