Panthers Believe Bryce Young Will Start Again This Season

According to a variety of reports, the Panthers believe the benching of QB Bryce Young is temporary and the quarterback will find his way back into the starting lineup at some point this season. 

NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport said he was told by sources this should be viewed as more of a break and a chance to reset for Young, with a good opportunity to be back, though a timeline was not provided.

Rapoport notes Carolina thinks Young will benefit with time to take a deep breath, let the game slow down and learn on the sidelines. People who observed Young closely told Rapoport that the young quarterback seemed overwhelmed, second-guessing decisions and not pushing the ball downfield. 

ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds Carolina believes they could go back to Young later this season depending on how things play out. In the meantime, he’ll back up veteran QB Andy Dalton. 

CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones has heard similarly to Schefter. 

“You want to see what you have in this kid,” one team source told Jones. “It’d be foolish not to.”

However, the Athletic’s Dianna Russini struck a different tone, saying it is “over” between the Panthers and Young no matter what the team says. Russini points out Young was “stunned” by the benching and felt like he had the confidence of the coaching staff until it shifted abruptly. 

Russini adds there’s a belief based on how things happened and the history in Carolina that owner Dave Tepper was the one who pulled the plug on Young, just 18 months after being all in on him as the No. 1 pick.

“Too much changed from Sunday to Monday,” one source told her. 

Jones, who used to cover the Panthers for the Charlotte Observer, says several sources pushed back against the characterization that Tepper masterminded the benching, though they noted this wouldn’t have happened without Tepper’s signoff.

“No owner isn’t involved in the benching of a quarterback, especially one drafted at No. 1,” said one.

“It was getting to the point where if you didn’t do something, you lose everyone,” said another.

Jones reconfirmed with his sources who told him the entire Panthers brain trust at the time had conviction on Young as the No. 1 pick, including Tepper, former HC Frank Reich and former GM Scott Fitterer.

Carolina has reportedly already received some trade inquiries about Young since the benching, however HC Dave Canales said this week they weren’t planning on trading the former No. 1 pick.  

Jones asked around the league and the best that anyone said the Panthers could get for trading Young right now was a fourth-round pick. 

Young, 23, was a two-year starter at Alabama and won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore in 2021. The Panthers drafted him with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. 

He signed a four-year, $41,217,000 contract that includes a $26,976,000 signing bonus and will carry a $7,494,000 cap figure for the 2023 season. The deal includes a fifth-year option for the 2027 season. 

In 2024, Young has appeared in two games for the Panthers and completed 31 of 56 pass attempts (55.4 percent) for 245 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s added five rush attempts for 18 yards and a touchdown. 

We’ll have more on the Panthers and Young as the news is available.