The Carolina Panthers might’ve just made a franchise-altering decision.
On Monday, the team opted to bench second-year quarterback and 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young after a startlingly slow start to the 2024 season. He will be replaced by 36-year-old veteran Andy Dalton, who is now in his 14th NFL campaign.
Head coach Dave Canales spoke to reporters about the move this afternoon, explaining the logic behind the somewhat shocking switch.
“A lot of factors that go into it, for this decision,” he said. “And ultimately, it just kinda lands on my shoulders to be able to make the best decision for our group to give us our chance, our best chance to win this week. And we focus on the weeks, we focus on the challenge at hand. And we feel like Andy gives us our best chance to meet the challenge.”
This is a tough move to make, especially for for a first-year head coach. But this development also peels back the state of the Panthers organization as a whole . . . even more.
Young, who measured in at 5-foot-10 and 196 pounds at the 2023 combine, was an outlier heading into last year’s draft. He’d be one of the smallest quarterbacks ever selected, which came with an uncontrollable downside.
While he was praised for his mental makeup, quickness and playmaking ability, Young lacked the physical tools that many teams covet at the position. And along with durability and height concerns, Young’s arm talent wasn’t considered anything particularly special.
So, the situation needed to be near-perfect for Young to succeed. Unfortunately, he landed in an unsustainable environment.
After a rough 2023 season, where Young threw just 11 touchdowns and was sacked 62 times as rookie, the Panthers made an effort to nurture their investment. Not only did they hire a “quarterback whisperer” at head coach in Dave Canales, but they worked to surround Young with a stronger interior offensive line and a handful of new playmakers.
But the first two games of the reboot have shown that Young may be a shell of what he was as a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback at the University of Alabama. He seems to have very little confidence in what he can do on the field and has hindered the Carolina offense, which has notched just one touchdown and two successful third-down conversions thus far.
This has been a case of regression for Young and of a team that could not afford to have it happen.
Young’s benching, even if it turns out to be the right decision in the long haul, has also solidified the Panthers’ spot in the sport’s cellar. Carolina has gone 2-16 in starts under Young—who was essentially acquired for a king’s ransom that included a Pro Bowl-caliber wide receiver, two first-round picks and two second-round picks.
So now, to put it bluntly, it’s time to look at the future if you’re Canales and general manager Dan Morgan.
It’s unclear what the 2025 and 2026 draft classes possess in terms of quarterback talent, as the league is months removed from the selection process. With Canales’ job security seemingly safe for the moment, the team must use and move around the resources they have through cap space and draft capital to build and develop talent with the pieces they have.
With Pro Bowl defensive lineman Derrick Brown out for the season, the team may have only one true blue-chip player in cornerback Jaycee Horn. Now, the Panthers will head into their road trip to Las Vegas with a new starting quarterback and more questions than answers to the state of the roster.
The team already has a solid offensive line that has given Young time in the pocket to throw, along with skilled players who know how to get open and can create after the catch. There is a chance Dalton could put up better numbers and tape than Young ever did last season, but only time will tell.
Although some may think he doesn’t belong in the league after today, Young is still a talented player. Perhaps the grass could be greener elsewhere. (Just ask Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold.)
But it seems as though it’s the beginning of the end of the “Bryce Age” in Carolina.
Hang in there, Panthers fans. It’s going to be a long road ahead, and it’ll probably be a bumpy one.
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