Did Bryce Young Do Enough To Earn Another Shot?
When the Carolina Panthers announced earlier this week that Bryce Young would start against the Denver Broncos, the sports world shook its head.
Andy Dalton, who had supplanted Young earlier this season, injured his thumb in a small car accident in Charlotte last Tuesday. Head coach Dave Canales announced the following day that the second-year QB would once again start, this time against one of the best defenses in the NFL.
After being yanked from the starting lineup after only two games, Young would have an “opportunity” to regain the starting job - without his top two wide receivers.
Adam Thielen, who was recently reactivated from injured reserve, wasn’t quite ready to go. Diontae Johnson was benched despite saying he thought he could play through his injuries. When asked if the decision to sit Johnson was tied to the trade rumors surrounding the former Pittsburgh WR, Canales told the media to ask the team’s GM instead. (In coach speak, that means Johnson is all but gone.)
To a man, the situation surrounding Young seemed unfair. His own head coach (who seemingly gave up on him after two games) reiterated on Monday that Dalton was the starter (and intentionally avoided answering a question about Young in the same breath) after yet another poor outing by the veteran Dalton. His top receiver, who the team traded for specifically to aid Young’s development, was being sidelined so the team could keep him healthy enough to trade away. Young's first game since September would be against one of the toughest defenses in the league.
Despite all of the above, this is the NFL. Excuses won’t cut it, and while Young couldn't lift the Panthers to victory, he refused to make excuses.
"I just wanted to go out and execute and wanted to contribute to winning football," said the former Heisman winner following the 28-14 loss. "I can get better with that."
Those who didn't watch the game may see Young's stats (24/37, 224 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) and shrug. It would be easy to chalk it up to just another shaky performance. To be fair, the first half saw Young conducting the offense in a manner similar to earlier this year. He seemed almost afraid to push the ball downfield, instead choosing to check it down to his running backs play after play. By halftime, Young had completed 78% of his passes, but only for 64 yards.
In the second half, however, the offense seemed to finally open up. Young took more shots downfield, and connected on a few - namely to rookies Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker.
Canales said Young had "some excellent throws" as Denver's defense allowed Young to throw for more yards than any other QB they've faced so far in 2024.
However, Canales was noncommittal on whether Young or Dalton will start in the team's next game - a Week 9 rematch with the New Orleans Saints, who destroyed Young and the Panthers in Week 1, 47-10.
"We will look at all the information," Canales said, when asked who would start moving forward. "We'll look at Andy's health over the next couple of days, and we'll make that decision and we'll have an answer for you in the next couple of days."
With the trade deadline rapidly approaching, Young's name has been thrown around in circles across the league. Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported last week that teams around the NFL were "licking their chops" at the idea of working with Young.
Reading between the lines, it would appear as though Dave Canales may be done with Bryce Young. Since the decision was made to bench Young, Canales has been given a multitude of chances to make his feelings on Young clear, but has sidestepped those kinds of questions each time. He's even been asked outright if the team had any plans for Young moving forward. His response was simply a reiteration of his support for Dalton instead.
Dalton's play, however, has not only plateaued, but it's also gotten worse. In his last four starts, Dalton is averaging less than 168 passing yards per game, with only four TDs and six INTs. Like Young, many of Dalton's throws have been to his first read - often times that are less than five yards downfield.
This speaks more to play calling and coaching than it does either QB. Before the season, Canales preached to his QBs the importance of getting the ball out quick. "2.7 seconds" is the time he's hammered in their heads; get the ball out in less than three seconds after the snap.
The problem with this, however, is it requires the surrounding talent to have incredible release off the line and create separation within that time span. Carolina's receivers don't currently boast that sort of ability. Opposing defenses have shown that they don't respect the Panthers' passing offense, choosing to stack the box with many defenders close to the line of scrimmage before the snap. Not only does this prevent the passing game from gaining momentum, but it also shuts down the run game.
In short, regardless of who is behind center, the Panthers seem to have a play calling problem.
When Young and Dalton have been given chances to push the ball downfield, good things happen. This opens up the run game for the offense and allows them to keep defenses off balance and in check. As mentioned earlier, Young made some solid throws downfield on Sunday. His placement on those passes has shown improvement, as has his pocket presence.
The mistakes he made instead came from trying to create a sense of urgency among his offense. On a drive late in the third quarter, the Carolina offense was penalized for delay of game two snaps in a row. Young was able to overcome this with a big time throw to Coker, but missed tight end Tommy Tremble on a fourth down attempt later in the drive while trying to avoid another delay of game penalty. Later on in the fourth quarter, Young threw another interception while trying to connect with Coker, once again on a play where there seemed to be a lack of urgency among both the Carolina players and coaches.
Overall, Young's performance wasn't great, but it appears that Canales was holding him back. Was a short leash warranted? One could make an argument either way. The offense under Young had looked poor up until this point, but the team was also 1-6 coming into the game. When Canales finally opened up the playbook, and stopped calling short passes and checkdowns for every pass attempt, Young and the offense looked far more competent.
Should Young Start? The Answer Is...
Yes.
Whether Young will be traded or not is anyone's guess. His future in the league is cloudy. But in Denver, against a top defense without his top targets, Bryce Young did enough to restart the conversation about whether or not he should start.
Given the state of the 1-7 Panthers and the recent poor play of Dalton, starting Young should be the obvious choice. The team has nothing to lose and everything to gain by playing Young the rest of the way. If he falters, moving on from him will be an easy decision. If he surpasses expectations and plays better, then the team has a choice to make - trade him and start over at QB again, or run it back in 2025 with Young and an improved team around him.
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