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Panthers benching No. 1 overall draft pick Bryce Young, starting Andy Dalton in Week 3

Young will now be the No. 2 QB behind the 36-year-old Red Rifle

liz roscher
Staff writer
·2 min read

Two weeks of Bryce Young was enough for Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales and general manager Dan Morgan. The Panthers are benching Young, their 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick, and will start veteran Andy Dalton going forward, beginning with Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero was the first to report on Young's benching.

Canales spoke to the media Monday about the decision to bench Young. He said Dalton gives the Panthers the best chance to win. He also said the team doesn't plan to add another QB to the roster.

The Panthers fell to 0-2 on Sunday after a 26-3 stomping by the Los Angeles Chargers. In Week 1, they were torched by the resurgent New Orleans Saints 47-10. Young has been struggling mightily over those two games, with one touchdown this season on a 3-yard rush against the Saints, but nothing in the air so far. He has, however, thrown three interceptions and is 31-of-56 passing for 245 yards.

Young started 16 games for the Panthers in his 2023 rookie year, but didn't live up to his draft position. He won just two games and looked frequently overwhelmed and overmatched.

As for who made the decision, it appears to have been done jointly between Canales, Morgan and executive vice president Brandt Tillis.

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As for Dalton, he's a backup specialist now. Not only did he start for Young in Week 3 last year, he's had to replace a benched or injured QB1 several times since he became a journeyman. With the Dallas Cowboys in 2020 he played several games for an injured Dak Prescott. He replaced Jameis Winston when he was with the Saints in 2022, and then won the starting job for the rest of the season.

At 36, Dalton is not a dazzler anymore, but he's a solid mid-to-low-range starter who is, if anything, very dependable. He's a veteran who can at least get things moving in the right direction. At this moment, the Panthers need that more than they need a struggling Young.