The Carolina Panthers shocked the NFL world on Monday by making the decision to bench their former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young in favor of veteran Andy Dalton. Despite the fact that the organization, including head coach Dave Canales, had expressed support for the young QB at every possible opportunity, it only took two weeks for them to pull the plug on the Bryce Young experience.
After the second straight blowout loss on Sunday, many suspected that benching Young would be on the table. However, likely no one thought that it would come after only two games. It seems like Young himself had no idea that it was happening.
According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, Young and his camp was "very shocked" to hear about the decision. Saying that it "came out of nowhere", they are implying that there wasn't a prior conversation between the two sides.
NFL News: Bryce Young Was "Very Shocked" About Benching
Sources: #Panthers QB Bryce Young and those close to him were “very shocked” at the organization’s decision to bench him this morning. “It came out of nowhere,” one source said.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) September 16, 2024
Safe to say no one anticipated the plug being pulled after just two games with a new coaching staff. pic.twitter.com/OAuu0P4Oc8
This suggests that the relationship between Young and the Panthers organization may be fractured to a point of no return. The former Alabama star likely believed that he had the vote of confidence of the Panthers' top brass since that has been the message coming out of the organization.
In the short run, Andy Dalton will probably be better for Carolina than Bryce Young. He is a competent veteran with a ton of experience in the league. He will not turn the football over and make simple mistakes.
At the same time, he is 36 years old. He is not a part of the Panthers' future plans. To have him start games as early as Week 3 certainly doesn't send the right message to Young. Is there a scenario in which Young wins his job back? It doesn't sound like the relationship can be repaired at this point and that is a big failure for the organization.