One day after the Carolina Panthers fell 0-2, the team benched last year’s top overall pick for quarterback, Bryce Young, in favor of veteran Andy Dalton.
First-year head coach Dave Canales announced the move after reviewing the film of Carolina’s 26-3 defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. That followed a 47-10 blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 1, as Young has seemingly regressed after a poor rookie season.
The Chargers game saw Young post a career-low QBR of 6.4, as the former Alabama star and Heisman winner has thrown three interceptions this season with nary a touchdown pass. He’s led Carolina to just three scores—two field goals and one touchdown—across 23 possessions this season, as the Panthers rank last in the NFL in points scored, total yards gained, and third-down conversion percentage.
Young, himself, ranks dead last in the league in passer rating and QBR, and ranks among the bottom five in completion percentage, interception percentage, and yards per attempt.
During the press conference in which Canales announced the move to bench Young, the coach would not divulge if this was just a one-game benching, a short-term strategy, or a long-term plan. The 37-year-old Dalton is clearly not the future for a rebuilding team like Carolina. He was signed last season to be a mentor to Young and is on his fifth team in six years.
The Panthers have a cross-country trip to play the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3 but the overarching question regards what happens with Young beyond Week 3, beyond this season, and for the rest of his career.
Carolina mortgaged lots of assets to obtain Young with the first overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, as it originally had the No. 9 pick. However, the Panthers traded that pick, receiver D.J. Moore, another first-rounder, and two second rounders to the Chicago Bears, moved up eight spots in order to draft Young.
Good News for Young
The good news for Young is that there is a precedent for top overall picks struggling initially but still finding success afterwards. In fact, quarterbacks that have made Super Bowls, made Pro Bowls, and even made the Hall of Fame have struggled as much, if not more so, than Young has so far.Jared Goff was the top overall pick in 2016 and proceeded to go 0-7 as a starter in his rookie year. Then, when paired with the right coach in Sean McVay, Goff became a Pro Bowl quarterback and started in a Super Bowl.
Hall of Famer Troy Aikman had an even more inauspicious start to his career after being the No. 1 overall pick in 1989. He went 0-11 as a starter with the 1989 Dallas Cowboys, throwing twice as many interceptions (18) as touchdown passes (nine). Even in his second season, Aikman still had far more interceptions (18) than touchdowns (11). But as Dallas added more talent around him, Aikman’s production increased as well to the tune of him becoming a three-time Super Bowl champion, six-time Pro Bowler, and the Super Bowl XXVII MVP.
Perhaps the most relevant comparison to Young comes in the form of Alex Smith, who was selected first overall by the San Francisco 49ers in 2005. Smith had arguably the worst rookie season of any quarterback, ever, with one touchdown versus 11 interceptions. While he would improve upon those numbers in subsequent seasons, he didn’t have more touchdown passes than interceptions in any of his first four seasons, and was often yanked out of the starting lineup during those years.
It wasn’t until his fifth year in 2009 that Smith found his groove as an NFL player, and even then, he started the first six games of the season on the bench.
Smith would then spend the next decade as a starting QB with San Francisco, with the Kansas City Chiefs, and with the Washington Redskins, making three Pro Bowls along the way. The combination of the right coaches, the right offensive scheme, and having talented playmakers around him allowed Smith to maximize his potential, as it did for Goff and Aikman.
The Panthers are still working on those ancillary pieces around Young, both in terms of coaching and personnel. Not only is Canales a first-year head coach, but offensive coordinator Brad Idzik is in his first season coordinating an offense at any level. Additionally, the team’s passing game coordinator, Nate Carroll, is in his first year in that role, or any coordinator role for that matter, while quarterbacks coach, Will Harriger, has also never been the lead QB coach at any level of football before.
Thus, with all of the new, and inexperienced, faces and voices in Carolina, perhaps someone with 14 years under his belt—like what Dalton has—is what the coaching staff needs, just as much as this demotion is what Young needs. History has shown that the book on Young isn’t finished yet, and he can just look in his division to see another Heisman-winning, top overall draft pick who has gotten countless opportunities to start in the NFL in Baker Mayfield.
As for Dalton, he’s now been both benched as a starter for another player and been the backup called upon to replace a starter. He says he’s excited about the opportunity to be under center again but knows the situation is hard for everyone involved.
