Bryce Young warrants another chance as a starting quarterback in the NFL.
Top draft picks at the position are prone to regeneration. The Carolina Panthers are currently treating Young as if he’s standing in the batter’s box after a dropped third strike.
He’s out. There’s a minute shot for him to be ruled safe, but only if the current battery fails, too.
Young, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, cost the franchise a fistful of draft picks and No. 1 receiver D.J. Moore. That haul went to the Chicago Bears as hope erupted around a Carolina franchise riddled with more change than the city bus.
Inept wasn’t quite enough to describe the Panthers’ offense 19 games into the Young experiment. That’s why journeyman Andy Dalton is the new starter, and Young’s future has been labeled a lot of different things. Hopeful is not one of them.
We don’t know when Young, who’s only 23 years old, will get another shot. We know it’s coming.
This isn’t as easy as pulling him aside to allow him time to assess becoming a quality quarterback, viewing games from a different vantage point. That would have meant giving him a couple of games as the backup and then moving the former Alabama QB back to first-string status.
Young was at the controls the first two weeks of the 2024 season. Carolina fans willing to remember what happened in 2023 could clearly see the offense, under the watch of new head coach Dave Canales, was a completely failed operation.
Young had plenty of help in that regard.
Enter Dalton.
He knows a thing or two about producing in an NFL offense. What Dalton did in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders provides the kindling that sparked a dormant offense.
The Panthers went from brown-bag delight to the brand of explosive and efficient attack Canales promised with Young behind center.
If Dalton somehow stays healthy and productive, he further complicates matters and confuses Carolina’s approach to handling the big picture with Young. Keep in mind that Dalton turns 37 in October, about a week before the NFL trade deadline, which is Nov. 5.
Canales scored his first career coaching victory with the Panthers last week, but it wasn’t his only crowning achievement in the profession. He earned the job on his ability to turn stowaway backups Geno Smith (Seahawks) and former No. 1 pick Baker Mayfield (Buccaneers) into Pro Bowl quarterbacks long after the rest of the league decided they were toast.
Dalton looked to be on the same path in a 300-yard, three-TD game that stood in stark contrast to Carolina’s ineptitude in blowout losses to the Saints and Chargers. In those losses, the Panthers were outscored 73-13.
Just a couple of days after whipping the Raiders, he made one of the most anticlimactic proclamations imaginable: Dalton will be the starting quarterback for the Panthers’ matchup against the visiting Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon.
No kidding.
It’s a reminder Canales can exhale after notching a victory, and Young at least experienced a less stressful Sunday than the past couple of weeks. He wasn’t chased by defensive linemen or, as he headed toward the sideline, watching punter Johnny Hekker pass him going in the other direction.
The Panthers reportedly heard overtures from other teams willing to engage in trade discussions since Young’s demotion. So far, there are no deals—and perhaps not a lot of interest in making one.
After all, the Panthers really want this to work with Young. Owner David Tepper is all about investments; it’s how he made his billions to buy the Panthers.
And it was Tepper who signed off on the draft selection nearly 18 months ago, when the Houston Texans rejoiced by selecting Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud No. 2 in the same draft.
Young stands in the shadows this week. But for how long?
He’s only one Dalton ailment—or a few Carolina losses—away from being back on the field in a big moment.
For Young, today is quiet. But when the next opportunity does arrive, the stakes for Young will never be higher.
