Bryce Young will be taking a break.
The Carolina Panthers have benched the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 draft, who was acquired at great cost 18 months ago, in favor of veteran backup Andy Dalton.
“Andy gives us our best chance to win right now,” rookie head coach Dave Canales said in a Monday afternoon news conference. “I’m excited for Andy.”
Canales informed Young and Dalton of the depth chart switch Monday morning but would not publicly commit to Dalton as the starter beyond Week 3.
It’s been a rocky season-plus for the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner, who has not lived up to his draft billing for a variety of reasons. In Young’s 18 professional starts, Carolina has lost 16 times. On a personal level, Young has completed fewer than 60% of his passes with a 70.9 passer rating. He’s accounted for 12 touchdowns and 19 turnovers and frequently looks uncomfortable on the field. His ability to process and cycle through reads, perhaps considered his greatest trait leading up to the draft – and a perceived offset to his slight frame (5-10, 204) – has not yet borne fruit in the pros.
However Young is already dealing with this third head coach, Canales in this case, a series of play callers and amid one of the NFL’s least-talented rosters. He passed for a career-low 84 yards in Sunday’s 26-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers − a disastrous home opener where fans in Charlotte headed for the exits early.
