Andy Dalton, come down!

The Carolina Panthers have a new head coach in 2024. Dave Canales, who was hired because of his good work on the Baker Mayfield redevelopment project in Tampa Bay, has apparently already seen enough of Bryce Young. The 2023 No. 1 overall pick from Alabama, for whom the franchise traded its 2024 first-round pick and a star receiver to draft, is now out. Dalton is in.

Dalton, the former starter in Cincinnati with the Bengals, was an injury replacement for the Cowboys in 2020 when starter Dak Prescott went down with a horrific leg injury after just five starts. Dalton led the Cowboys to a 4-5 record and famously inspired very little loyalty from his troops in Dallas.

Dalton was completely blown to the head by a vicious blow while sliding in a game against Washington in late October of this season. Not a single teammate made a big fuss about the blow to the opposing team.

When Dalton was signed in the 2020 offseason – stop reading if you’ve heard this before – some disgruntled fans thought he was meant to replace Prescott as the starter. In the 10 games he played in, he threw for 2,170 yards with 14 touchdowns to 8 interceptions.

Despite his injury, Prescott signed a contract worth $40 million a year during the following offseason.

This legacy has since been passed on first to Cooper Rush and then to Trey Lance, and Prescott has since signed a new contract that will now pay him $60 million per season.

After 2020, Dalton spent a year with the New Orleans Saints (6-8) and another with the Chicago Bears (3-3) before joining the Panthers last year. He went 0-1 in 2023 and will now be the starter for the foreseeable future.

During his time with the Bengals, he achieved a record of 70-61-2 as a starter and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2011 and again in 2014 and 2016 as a rookie.

Cutting a second-year quarterback into the season seems a little premature for Canales. Dalton certainly gives the club a better chance to win and a better sense of the rest of the team, but pretending that a roster lacking talent at every level needs even a mediocre starter to be competitive seems a little reactionary.

This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Former Cowboys QB with sub-.500 record somehow gets back into NFL action after his first draft pick is benched