Bryce Young is out; did the Panthers beat him there?

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Bryce Young's benching by the Carolina Panthers is an example of expecting too much too soon from a player in need of development.

The Carolina Panthers couldn’t earn national attention for losing but made up for it by benching Bryce Young.

If you’ve been paying attention to the fallout about Panthers coach Dave Canales demoting Young, last year’s top overall draft pick in favor of 14-year veteran Andy Dalton, you heard analysts and pundits say the incredible (trade Young to a franchise that can better nurture and develop him) and the plausible (Carolina is a dysfunctional franchise). What no one said is that Young is over his head.

All those takes could be true, just not at the same time.

Canales, for his part, is a first-year head coach who is tasked with developing Young, who scouts swore has the physical – albeit short at 5-foot 10 – and leadership tools successful quarterbacks need in the modern NFL. But after watching video of last week’s 26-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Canales found it necessary to go with Dalton. You can argue whether it was the right call, but there is no doubt Young’s struggles had a direct bearing on Carolina’s 0-2 start.

A bust already?

Some critics complain the Panthers overreacted. By giving up a good chunk of the franchise’s future in a trade with the Chicago Bears to take Young first in 2023 while giving up top receiver D.J. Moore and the 2024 first round pick that became quarterback Caleb Williams, the Panthers are heavily invested in Young. But losing games without showing signs of improvement isn’t good for anyone – including Young.

Could the Panthers and NFL scouts have been totally wrong about Young all along? That’s a real possibility too. Every year at draft time, NFL observers, football media and the league itself breathlessly hype every player as if they are a franchise-altering athlete when it’s far from likely, or even logical. If every player drafted is that good, there would be far fewer undrafted free agents landing on rosters.

Canales insists he hasn’t given up on Young, which is prudent. At 36, Dalton is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, which means Carolina still needs a quarterback for the future. There’s an opportunity to further develop Young and allow him to grow into the job. The NFL’s win-now mentality and huge salaries paid to elite (and even middling) quarterbacks have led to higher expectations for young players who aren’t physically or emotionally capable of meeting them.

QB is a hard job

Rookies usually struggle to some extent with the adjustment needed to succeed, especially at quarterback, the toughest job to master in sports. There have been historic exceptions, though, like Houston’s C.J. Stroud – taken second overall last year – and Miami’s Dan Marino from the 1983 class that included fellow Hall of Fame inductees Jim Kelly and John Elway as first-round picks. Three other quarterbacks were taken in the first round that year. They weren’t close to posting hall-worthy careers.

Young’s demotion highlights the state of the NFL as well as the Panthers, who have gone through numerous coach and general manager changes since David Tepper bought the team in 2018. Carolina is 31-70 during that span, which is worst in the NFL and the fan base is increasingly disenchanted with a franchise that can’t seem to do anything right.

Will sitting Young be the answer? The first hint could be Sunday when the Panthers go to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders. If Dalton provides a spark and stays healthy, it gives Carolina an opportunity to compete for wins and work on a reboot for Young. One thing’s for certain: nothing is certain.
 

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