(Image via si.com)
Staff Writer: Aidan Danforth
Email: adanforth@umassd.edu
The NFL is an ever-changing landscape that moves quickly and doesn’t leave much room for player error. This is even the case for highly drafted prospects like quarterback Bryce Young, who has been benched by the Carolina Panthers two weeks into the 2024 NFL season.
Young was selected with the first overall pick of the 2023 draft and has shown no signs of becoming Carolina’s franchise QB. What does Young’s benching mean for this career?
Is there a chance for him to rebound, or will he become an all-time bust?
Young had a horrendous rookie year. He started 16 games for the Panthers, won two starts, and nearly had as many interceptions as touchdowns.
He also lacked the offensive playmakers to get anything going, as many of them were mediocre. His offensive line couldn’t help either, as Young was sacked the second most in the NFL, with 62 sacks.
The team barely had any bright spots, and it appeared to be a lost season from the start. People were not worried about Young since Trevor Lawrence had a similar situation during his rookie season.
Now, Lawrence is one of the highest-paid QBs in the NFL and a team leader.
The Panthers went to work in the offseason by hiring Dave Canales as their new head coach. Canales is best known as the man who helped turn Baker Mayfield into a star.
This made fans optimistic as they hoped the same would happen to Young.
Canales began by upgrading the offensive line and trading for veteran wide receiver Diontae Johnson. They also drafted young rookies, like Jonathan Brooks and Xavier Leggette, to help the offense.
All signs were pointing for a breakout season from Bryce Young as there was lots of optimism around him, his new coach, and the additional talent added.
Bryce Young even showed flashes in training camp, which the team saw as enough since Young did not appear in their three preseason games. Carolina wasn’t expected to compete to be among the elite, but Young was supposed to show signs of improvement.
Instead, Young looked worse than ever in his first games, where he didn’t throw a single touchdown and had three interceptions.
He was utterly lost. Young was getting pressured, lacked proper pocket awareness, and looked nothing like the top prospect from Alabama.
Bryce Young is in one of the worst situations a QB can be in, being benched while showing little to no signs of being a starting-caliber player.
In these situations, there are two potential outcomes: Young returns later this season, or he gets traded.
Young’s return time may depend on the QB play of veteran Andy Dalton. Dalton is entering his 14th season and has proven himself a reliable game manager when he started a game for the Panthers last season and threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns.
It appears Dalton has brought new life to this team. Against a struggling Raiders team, Dalton put up 319 yards and three touchdowns in a 36-22 win. He gave the Panther’s offense life with Young’s same skill group.
It’s only one game, but if Dalton keeps up this level of playing, we may not see Young under center for the rest of the year.
With this realization, it now begs the question. Do the Panthers move on from the first overall pick and trade him to a team that could fix him?
Fresh starts have saved many QBs from becoming all-time busts by giving them a chance to work in a new scheme, which helped them revive their career.
Although this could work for Young, it may be hard for Carolina to move on after what they gave up for him. In 2023, the Panthers traded two first-round picks, a 2025 second, and DJ Moore for the rights to the number one pick.
This trade had the chance to be franchise-altering as the Bears had assets to help their rebuild, while the Panthers had the opportunity to pick up a generational talent.
The trade worked out for the Bears as they have a new QB in Caleb Williams and several good players. On the other hand, this trade may go down as one of the worst decisions in NFL history.
Several teams have already contacted Carolina regarding Bryce Young’s availability; however, Carolina appears to not be giving up on Young, as they declined offers from four teams.
Carolina also hopes that Young will start at some point this season, but the way Andy Dalton is playing and the trade offers may impact their decision going forward.
Will Bryce Young overcome being benched and prove himself as the franchise’s long-time savior, or will he get a fresh start in a new jersey sometime in the future?