When the Carolina Panthers hired Dave Canales to take over a 2-15 team that was the worst in the NFL last year, it was said he was hired to resurrect quarterback Bryce Young’s career.
The resurrection is complete. Instead of transforming his quarterback, Canales has benched him.
Thus far, under the tutelage of Canales, Carolina has managed to regress in the first two games of 2024. The regression was particularly visible at the quarterback position , where former No. 1 pick Young’s play has gotten worse in all aspects. Carolina trailed the Saints 30-0 at halftime in the opener, then lost 26-3 to the Chargers in Week 2. In other words, the Panthers were not even competitive.
As a result, Canales decided to bench Young and have veteran Andy Dalton step in as the starter.
Young, for all his struggles, was the biggest remaining hope the Panthers had for a rebound and eventual success. When you make an investment as big as Carolina did for the quarterback, the most important priority is developing that young quarterback to be a future star. And now, just two games into his second season, Young has lost the starting job, a humbling decision for a franchise that has missed on a number of decisions of late.
How much hope does Dalton bring? This is a guy that turns 37 next month.
The Panthers will say this isn’t a permanent change, that time on the sidelines can help Young find himself, find some confidence and be better prepared to handle the starting role when comes back to him.
But will it come back to him? I feel it will. Dalton has not played well for many different teams over the years. Actually, it has been close to a decade since Dalton saw success. And let’s remember, Dalton has the same players on the field with him that Young had. There just is not much talent on this team.
So let’s say Young gets another chance. Will it be any better? I doubt it.
Let me wrap up by remaining everyone how the Panthers got in this predicament.
Today’s NFL all but forces teams that don’t have a franchise quarterback to overpay just to have a chance at landing one, and that’s what an impatient Panthers team did in 2023. The Chicago Bears got an amazing windfall for Young: receiver DJ Moore, the pick that ended up being this year’s No. 1 overall in quarterback Caleb Williams, plus picks that netted a starting tackle in Darnell Wright and a corner in Tyrique Stevenson, who already has a pick-six this season. And the Panthers are not finished paying that bill, as Chicago will have Carolina’s second-round pick in 2025, which almost certainly will be a top-40 pick.
That move by Carolina led to Houston picking second last year. They gladly took quarterback C.J. Stroud, who is 11-6 as a starter. Stroud took Houston to a division title and a playoff win last season. Who knows when the Panthers will see playoff action?
Speaking of impatience, it has to pain Carolina fans to watch former Panthers quarterbacks, Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold thrive with other teams once they got out of Charlotte.
Maybe the problem with the Panthers is ownership and coaching.
