The Carolina Panthers benched 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young in favor of veteran quarterback Andy Dalton on Monday. Since then, ESPN senior national reporter Dan Graziano suggested the Seattle Seahawks as a potential trade destination for the 23-year-old signal-caller.
The Miami Dolphins, New York Jets and Los Angeles Rams were also mentioned. But does a trade for Bryce Young make sense for the Seahawks? What is there to gain from inheriting a struggling young quarterback who has played significantly worse in 18 NFL starts than Seattle's backup quarterback they just traded for this offseason?
Young, in two games this season, has completed just over 55 percent of his passes for 245 yards and three interceptions. His 4.4 yards per attempts rank 31st in the league ahead of the 2024 No. 1 overall pick, Caleb Williams (4.0).
Through 18 games, Young has 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions and is completing south of 60 percent of his passes. Sam Howell, who Seattle traded for in March, has a career completion percentage of 63.2 for 4,115 passing yards (6.5 yards per attempt), 22 touchdowns and 22 interceptions in the same amount of games.
But it's not just about the stats. Howell showed significant growth in Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb's system from the beginning of training camp to the end of the preseason. He looked like an NFL quarterback who could eventually return to a starting role.
Young, who is three inches shorter than Howell at 5-10, may just not have the build and skillset to be a starting quarterback. His improvisational skills have not translated to the pros, and he cannot throw to the middle of the field — placing his lack of height back under the microscope.
The Panthers quarterback is 1-of-5 passing for 14 yards and two interceptions in 2024 when throwing between the hashes more than 10 yards downfield, per NFL Next Gen Stats. He has not completed a pass thrown more than 20 yards downfield this season.
This isn't even factoring in Geno Smith's excellent play so far in 2024 that has him ranked seventh in total estimated points added (EPA) among quarterbacks, per Sumer Sports, and eighth in passer rating in his age 33 season, among many other stats he's currently ranked top-10 in.
An extension — either during the season or after — that keeps Smith around for three or four more seasons as Seattle's starter is becoming more and more realistic. It's something the team should be working on right now. Quarterbacks playing, and starting, into their late 30s and early 40s is becoming more common in the NFL (i.e. Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady) if they're still winning football games. Smith has also shown he has little wear-and-tear on his body as he nears 34 years old.
The Seahawks are 2-0 and building their roster to compete for championships. Inserting Young would set that agenda back at least three-to-five years, and that's if he even manages to turn his career around.
Carolina mortgaged its future to draft Young. If you're the Panthers, sit him down, let him develop and try again in a year or two. If you're Seattle, don't try to fix what isn't broken.
