It took the Carolina Panthers just 18 starts to bench Bryce Young after he led them to a 2-16 record since becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The move came as a shock, mainly because the Panthers invested heavily into the Heisman-winning QB by trading two firsts, two second-round picks, plus D.J. Moore for Young’s draft rights last April.
However, Young’s performance merits the move to Andy Dalton, to see if the former Pro Bowl QB can spark Carolina’s offense in Week 3. After all, Young had the fewest passing yards among starters, the NFL’s worst QBR, and the fifth-worst completion rate. However, some would argue that the Panthers set Young up to fail, and that most of the blame falls on the organization as a whole.
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Carolina Panthers organization blamed for ‘screwing up’ Bryce Young
Although Caleb Williams’ NFL debut season hasn’t gone according to plan, the Chicago Bears have given their franchise quarterback a much better environment to grow than Bryce Young has. The Carolina Panthers quarterback is only in his second season, yet he already has had three different head coaches (counting interim fill-in Chris Tabor).
But it’s not just stability. The Panthers also haven’t provided their 23-year-old quarterback with a No. 1 receiver, instead shipping D.J. Moore to Chicago. Carolina’s offensive line in Young’s rookie season was one of the worst in the NFL. After investing over $100 million to sign guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, the Panthers’ offensive line is finally above-average and is actually rapidly improving. But this isn’t the unit Young got to work with last year.
It also doesn’t help that the Panthers have parted with and/or lost some special players on defense. This includes trading Brian Burns to the New York Giants this past offseason and the more recent season-ending injury to Derrick Brown. This only places more pressure on the offense to perform.
However, some suggest Young was doomed from the start. Count ESPN’s college football analyst Paul Finebaum as one who believes the Panthers couldn’t have been successful, even if they had some of the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks of our era, such as Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes.
“Quite frankly, I think if you brought Patrick Mahomes into this franchise, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning as rookies, the Carolina Panthers would’ve screwed them up just as well as they did to poor Bryce Young.”
Paul Finebaum on Carolina Panthers
"Quite frankly, I think if you brought Patrick Mahomes into this franchise, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning as rookies, the Carolina Panthers would've screwed them up just as well as they did to poor Bryce Young."
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) September 18, 2024
—@finebaum 😯 pic.twitter.com/IFIQfKhxvx
Related: NFL exec labels Carolina Panthers’ franchise as a ‘disaster’ after Bryce Young benching