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He’s got five games as a starter under his belt, and third-year quarterback Matt Moore is ready to take over as the starting quarterback of the Carolina Panthers.

One week after the Panthers released long-time starter Jake Delhomme, who suffered through a difficult 2009 season, Moore was signed to a one-year, $3.043 million tender.

The team declared Moore its starting quarterback going into training camp.

“Obviously it was great how last season ended, on a high note personally and for the team,” Moore said. “The challenge is maintaining that level of play for a whole season, from Day 1, through workouts, we have to challenge the whole team to play at a high level consistently.”

Moore, 25, went 4-1 as a starter with eight touchdowns and only two interceptions and a passer rating of 98.5 after Delhomme was sidelined with a broken finger at the end of last season. The team started 4-7 under Delhomme but finished 8-8 with Moore taking over and narrowly missed the playoffs.

The Panthers placed the highest possible tender on Moore, meaning a team would have had to surrender first- and third-round draft picks to Carolina to sign the restricted free agent.