In a shocking turn of events, Carolina Panthers Head Coach Dave Canales announced on Tuesday that former first-overall pick, Bryce Young, would be benched moving forward in favor of QB Andy Dalton. This announcement comes as a surprise considering after Sunday’s loss to the Chargers, Canales was adamant that Young would be the starter moving forward. "Bryce is our quarterback. I'd love to see this team continue to take the next steps offensively... Bryce is our quarterback. We're going to shore up the things we need to offensively, from a scheme standpoint, all those things. These are all valuable reps. These are all valuable games and hopefully, we'll take another step this week."
That statement lasted all of 48 hours before Canales announced the switch. Interestingly enough, Canales stressed that the decision was not influenced by owner David Tepper, rather it was made in conjunction with GM Dan Morgan. The Panthers are undergoing a historic stretch of bad play extending back to last year. Through two games the Panthers have lost by a combined score of 73-13 and have only scored one offensive touchdown.
Despite the record-bad play, it is important to note that all the blame should not be placed on Bryce Young. Is he on the level of Mahomes, Allen or heck even CJ Stroud? No and passing on Stroud will forever haunt this franchise. However while Young may not be on the top end of the spectrum, he certainly has shown enough through 18 games not to be considered on the bottom end of the spectrum with the likes of Josh Rosen, Kenny Pickett, or Trey Lance.
Overall, this Panthers squad is top to bottom the worst in the NFL and by season's end may compete for the title of worst NFL team of all time. While the O-line has been better to start this season, their performance last year left Young rattled and low on confidence playing behind statistically the worst O-line during the 2023 season.
The skill groups left much to be desired as well. After splurging in free agency the past 2 years to bring in veterans Adam Thielen, Miles Sanders, Hayden Hurst, and Diontae Johnson, none of the aforementioned signings have helped the team. The wide receivers have averaged the least amount of separation amongst the 32 NFL teams during Young’s tenure as the starter.
Perhaps the most glaring issue for the Panthers is the lack of a run game despite on paper having the players to succeed. Hubbard and Sanders combined last year for 3.6 yards per carry which was outside the top 40 NFL running backs. Sanders especially came in last year with a big contract and a recent track record of success only to lose his starting job and fade into irrelevance as the season progressed.
The decision to move on from Young to Dalton this early in the season has left many fans feeling the same way Bryce Young does. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported that the hasty decision has left Young “pissed off” and who could blame him. As a fan of the Panthers, the decision doesn't make much sense to me.
The haul given up to the Bears in the Young/Williams trade will go down in infamy as one of the most lopsided trades of all time; however considering the price we paid for Young, it seems far too premature to move on. By benching Young, the Panthers are essentially waving the white flag and moving on even though the assets given up for Young have set a rebuild back by at least 3 to 5 years.
Anyone who has watched the first two games of the year knows that this season is lost. We won't be competing for the NFC South, shoot, we won't even be competing for a .500 year as a team. Starting Dalton makes no sense for the Panthers who are tanking for a high draft point at this point. Many fans have posed the scenario that starting Dalton over Young might have a small influence over the season's outcome, potentially costing the Panthers the #1 overall pick if Dalton manages to piece together some wins.
At this point, I am firmly in the camp that the Panthers made yet another poor personnel decision and I too am worried Dalton will be taking us from the #1 overall to say #5 overall pick.
Whatever happens, for the love of God, David Tepper please do not fall for the Sheduer Sanders hype.
