First-year Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales has seen enough from Bryce Young. The Panthers are benching the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft in favor of veteran quarterback Andy Dalton, who will start against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3.
Panthers Bench Former No. 1 Overall Pick Bryce Young
NFL teams rarely bench young, highly-drafted quarterbacks just 18 starts into their pro careers — but it’s hard to argue that Young doesn’t deserve to sit.
In Week 1, the Panthers were destroyed by the New Orleans Saints after Young completed just 13 of 30 attempts for 161 yards and two interceptions while taking four sacks.
He was arguably even worse in Week 2 when he averaged just 3.8 yards per attempt in a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. According to TruMedia, Young’s 17.2% passing success rate against the Bolts was the sixth-worst mark for a QB with at least 20 attempts in a game since 2020.
A reminder of what the Panthers traded away to draft Bryce Young:
– WR DJ Moore
– 2023 first-round pick (No. 9 overall)
– 2023 second-round pick (No. 61 overall)
– 2024 first-round pick (No. 1 overall)
– 2025 second-round pick— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) September 16, 2024
Of course, Young was just unproductive during his 2023 campaign. His 33.4 QBR was the second-worst in the league, ahead of only Zach Wilson. Young ranked dead last with just 3.68 adjusted net yards per attempt (ANY/A), a passing statistic highly correlated with winning games.
Since 2000, only three first-round quarterbacks have posted worse Year 1 ANY/A marks. One was Matthew Stafford (2009), but the other two were Josh Rosen (2018) and David Carr (2002).
The Panthers gave up a haul to trade up and draft Young first overall in 2023. Carolina sent a package of players and draft picks to the Chicago Bears that eventually turned into QB Caleb Williams, WR DJ Moore, OT Darnell Wright, CB Tyrique Stevenson, P Tory Taylor, and a 2025 second-round pick.
Will the Panthers Trade Bryce Young?
While Canales and the Panthers will surely sell Young’s benching as a chance for the former Heisman Winner to step back and breathe, it’s hard to imagine the second-year quarterback emerging as Carolina’s franchise quarterback at this point.
Sure, the Panthers could re-insert Young later this season and see if a break from live action did him any good. But it’s fair to wonder if Young has played his final snap in Carolina.
Stock up/stock down from NFL Week 2:
• #Saints OC Klint Kubiak and #Cardinals OC Drew Petzing should get ready for 2025 head coaching interviews
• Is Bryce Young unplayable?
• Notes on the 2-0 #Buccaneers, the 0-2 #Bengals, and moreRead at @PFN365: https://t.co/fnKlpXkA6o
— Dallas Robinson (@DallasDRobinson) September 16, 2024
Canales’ six-year contract runs through 2029. He is not attached to Young and likely wants to find his preferred signal-caller at the top of next year’s draft. Trading Young probably won’t be out of the question for Canales and GM Dan Morgan, even if they could only hope to land a late-round pick.
Any team that traded for Young would have him under contract through 2026 for roughly $13.2 million (fully guaranteed). An acquiring club would also get the rights to Young’s 2027 fifth-year option.
Which teams could be interested in taking a chance on last year’s No. 1 overall pick? Let’s run through the teams that could make sense for Young, either during the 2024 season or the 2025 offseason.
Las Vegas Raiders
Gardner Minshew II ranked 13th in QBR in Week 2 while guiding the Raiders to an upset over the Baltimore Ravens. Las Vegas gave Minshew a two-year, $25 million contract this offseason and then named him their Week 1 starter over fellow QB Aidan O’Connell.
Neither signal-caller seems like a long-term option for the Raiders. But Vegas’ defense might be good enough to keep them out of the top 10 picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, depriving the club of a shot at a franchise QB.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Justin Fields is 2-0 as the Steelers’ starting quarterback. For the most part, he’s kept the ball out of harm’s way, taken an occasional deep shot, and let Pittsburgh’s defense do its job.
Fields is a pending free agent, as is Russell Wilson, who was supposed to be the Steelers’ starter before a calf injury limited his availability. Pittsburgh GM Omar Khan has been more than willing to operate on the NFL trade market this offseason. He acquired Fields and CB Donte Jackson, moved QB Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles, and almost got a deal for San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk across the finish line.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns might have to get creative at quarterback. With Deshaun Watson’s fully guaranteed contract taking up so much of Cleveland’s books, they may have to find an affordable stopgap option in the years to come.
Of course, whether Young can be even that is an open question. Watson ranks 28th in EPA per dropback (-0.25) this season, but Young (-0.44, dead last in the league) is even worse.
Tennessee Titans
Will Levis might be the next young NFL quarterback to get benched if he keeps playing as poorly as he has through two weeks. Levis’ hectic playstyle has resulted in back-breaking, meme-worthy turnovers. Head coach Brian Callahan was in pure disbelief on Sunday after Levis lost the ball inside the New York Jets’ 10-yard line on an attempted lateral.
Could Young operate Callahan’s system as Cincinnati Bengals QB2 Jake Browning did for Callahan and Zac Taylor after Joe Burrow went down in 2024?
New York Giants
Next year’s NFL Draft looks like a better place for the Giants to find Daniel Jones’ successor. Still, we don’t know who might be running New York’s front office next offseason. If the Giants enter a complete rebuild in 2025, drafting a rookie while adding a bridge option with potential upside like Young could be the play.