How many of us didn’t drink the Bryce Young Kool-Aid. Concerns about his size aside, the former Heisman Trophy winner was lauded for his high football IQ and ability to create off-schedule plays coming out of college. The Carolina Panthers believed in the pint-sized wunderkind so much that they mortgaged their foreseeable future to acquire him with the No. 1 overall pick in 2023.
While the jury should still remain out on Anthony Richardson until at least the middle of 2025 due to his near-unprecedented inexperience as an NFL sophomore, Young doesn’t have the same reps-related excuses, a world-class arm or rushing talent to fall back on. The man selected directly after him, CJ Stroud, has already led the previously moribund Houston Texans franchise to a playoff victory and has them 2-0 out of the gates in 2024.
Combine that with the fact that the Panthers have been outscored 73-13 through two weeks, and new head coach Dave Canales has seen enough. Based on these couple plays alone, I’d be with him:
what is Bryce Young doing? pic.twitter.com/frBsgiE13n
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 15, 2024
not sure how you fix Bryce Youngpic.twitter.com/4fBd31j1OP
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 16, 2024
Impulsive Carolina owner David Tepper wouldn’t blink about making Canales a one-and-done head coach. Canales knows this. So he’s turning to Andy Dalton to breathe some life into the offense, which means Young is headed to the bench.
Sources: The #Panthers are benching former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young and starting veteran Andy Dalton beginning this week.
Coach Dave Canales has repeatedly said “Bryce is our quarterback.” But with the season quickly slipping away, Canales decided to make a change. pic.twitter.com/jTYawQCi2C
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 16, 2024
Bryce Young has started 18 games. The team is 2-16 in those games, he has 11 TDs and 13 INTs, and he’s gone through two head coaches, with one being fired midseason. The Panthers organization has been in as bad a place as it possibly could be. A complete mess. https://t.co/G2Kzhu9h3t
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 16, 2024
Apparently Luke Combs opining that the Panthers were “absolutely gruesome to watch” after Week 1 didn’t push Canales over the edge to have Young ride the pine. He needed another 26-3 drubbing on Sunday against the Chargers for everything to crystallize.
Make no mistake, Carolina is in hell as a football operation. I was actually trying to figure out a way to capture their ongoing futility, the likes of which has only been glimpsed one other time in the past century. Shout out to Bryce Young for this lay-up:
Most consecutive games without leading in 4th Qtr in NFL history
(incl. games where team's only lead was when clock hit 0:00)1922-25 Rochester Jeffersons 22
2023-24 Carolina Panthers 20
1976-77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20 pic.twitter.com/5dipfdifGU— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 16, 2024
Young working at a Raising Cane’s is a meme that’s made the rounds for a while now. He may need to start applying.
Bryce Young next Sunday: pic.twitter.com/hq7iAvzftQ
— IcyVert (@IcyVert) September 16, 2024
Star defensive lineman Derrick Brown is out for the season, so there’s little else for the Panthers to fall back on, save for Dalton improbably sparking the team with a veteran presence under center.
The Panthers’ revamped offensive line is actually doing its job, which only reflects worse on Young’s individual performance. Do I think Carolina has weapons galore in the passing game? No, not really, but based on the pass protection, the offense should look much better than it has.
Hate to keep bringing it up (kind of, it’s funny as a neutral observer), but damn. That trade to get Young looks worse by the day.
Revisiting the Brian Burns, Bryce Young, and Christian McCaffrey trades:
the Panthers basically traded:
+ QB Caleb Williams
+ RB Christian McCaffrey
+ WR D.J. Moore
+ 2023 Round 1 pick (top-10)
+ 2023 Round 2 pick
+ 2024 Round 1 pick
+ 2025 Round 1 pickin exchange for:
+ a…
— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) August 29, 2024
Any way you slice it, Bryce Young looks like a bust to end all busts. And to think it’s heavily rumored Tepper was the brains behind picking him over Stroud. YIKES.
Bryce Young’s rankings among 32 QBs with at least 250 attempts since the start of last season:
Pass TDs: 27th (11)
Interceptions: 25th (13)
Yards per attempt: 32nd (5.4)
Sacks taken: 32nd (68)
EPA per dropback: 32nd (-0.24)
Passer rating: 32nd (70.9) https://t.co/fZj32ZXEfY pic.twitter.com/S6EEB4pj3g— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) September 16, 2024
Bryce Young 18 games in has completed less than 60 percent of his passes, thrown less than 15 touchdowns and is averaging less than six yards per attempt.
QBs with 500+ pass attempts to hit same thresholds over a stretch of 18 games since 2000:
Jon Kitna
Chris Weinke*
David…— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) September 16, 2024
According to @NextGenStats,
– Bryce Young's longest completed pass in Air Distance was 23.4 yards, the lowest of Week 2
– It took him 26 attempts to get to 84 yards passing pic.twitter.com/551qWl5OnL
— Justin Edwards (@Justin_Redwards) September 16, 2024
