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

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

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

The Panthers have lost Matt Moore to a season-ending shoulder injury and Jimmy Clausen suffered a concussion Sunday against Tampa Bay.

Carolina signed St. Pierre to the practice squad last week. He was promoted to the 53-man roster Tuesday.

St. Pierre takes charge of the NFL’s lowest-scoring team that’s also without its top three running backs.