Panthers bench No. 1 draft pick Bryce Young and let Andy Dalton start in Week 3
Two weeks with Bryce Young was enough for Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales and general manager Dan Morgan. The Panthers benched Young, their No. 1 overall draft pick for 2023, and will start with the experienced Andy Dalton starting in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network was the first to report on Young’s substitution.
Canales spoke to the media on Monday about the decision to bench Young. He said Dalton gives the Panthers the best chance to win. He also said the team does not plan to add another quarterback to the roster.
The Panthers fell to 0-2 on Sunday after being trounced 26-3 by the Los Angeles Chargers. They were trounced 47-10 by the resurgent New Orleans Saints in Week 1. Young has struggled mightily in those two games, with one touchdown this season on a 3-yard run against the Saints, but has failed to score. He has, however, thrown three interceptions and completed 31 of 56 passes for 245 yards.
Some notes on Young before the substitution:
– Young hadn’t thrown a regular season TD pass since last December against GB (Week 16).
– In his last four regular season games he has produced 4 interceptions.
– His average is 4.4 yards per throw and 7.9 yards per completed pass over …
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) 16 September 2024
Young started 16 games for the Panthers in his rookie year in 2023, but did not live up to his draft spot. He won only two games and often seemed overwhelmed and inferior.
Who made the decision appears to have been made jointly by Canales, Morgan and Executive Vice President Brandt Tillis.
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Dalton is now a backup specialist. Not only did he start for Young in Week 3 last year, but he has had to replace a benched or injured QB1 several times throughout his career. With the Dallas Cowboys, he played several games for the injured Dak Prescott in 2020. He replaced Jameis Winston when he was with the Saints in 2022 and then secured the starting spot for the rest of the season.
At 36, Dalton is no longer a luminary, but he is a solid mid-to-lower-range starter who is very reliable if anything. He’s a veteran who can at least get things moving in the right direction. Right now, the Panthers need that more than a struggling Young.
