The 2023 No. 1 overall pick has been benched by his new head coach.
We have our first quarterback benching of the 2024 NFL season, and it’s from a team filled with former Seattle Seahawks coaches, players, and front office personnel.
First-year head coach and longtime Pete Carroll assistant Dave Canales has pulled the plug on Bryce Young as starting quarterback after two wildly inept performances. Carolina scored 10 points in a blowout loss against the New Orleans Saints and thrilled the home fans with a whopping 3 points, meaning the Panthers have put up one touchdown and zero 200+ yard games over Young’s last four starts (dating back to last season).
Young was awful as a rookie, and the hope was that Canales, who was Geno Smith’s quarterback coach in Seattle and Baker Mayfield’s offensive coordinator in Tampa, would help guide the 2023 number one overall pick back on the right track. The early returns are disastrous. Young is just 31/56 for 245 yards, 0 TDs, 3 INTs, and adjusted net yards/attempt of 1.11.
Bryce Young’s height—he’s shorter than Russell Wilson—has been subject to much debate given the success of Wilson, and to a much lesser extent Kyler Murray. Young is doing jump passes on short throws. I don’t see how his height isn’t a serious issue when he doesn’t have the arm strength of Wilson or Murray, Kyler’s speed, or the athleticism of either.
It might be time for a re-recalibration and understanding of why successful shorter quarterbacks have historically been outliers in the NFL.
Andy Dalton will replace Young for the foreseeable future. The Panthers do not have their 2025 second-round pick, which belongs to the Chicago Bears.
