Panthers HC Explains Benching Bryce Young for Andy Dalton: 'I Owe It to All the Guys'

Many members of the Carolina Panthers surely didn't expect to be reading about a quarterback change Monday, but head coach Dave Canales told reporters he was thinking of them when he decided to bench Bryce Young for Andy Dalton.

"Andy gives us our best chance to win this week," he said ahead of the Week 3 game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

"Hate to sound like a broken record, I owe it to all the guys … everybody involved to be really critical about what we put on film and what I'm seeing and to make sure that I'm constantly making the best decision for the team, every week."

Young has not been good since the Panthers selected him with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft with a 2-16 record and 11 touchdown passes to 13 interceptions.

It is also completely stunning to see an NFL team that likely won't realistically compete for a playoff spot this season bench the No. 1 overall pick so early in his career.

Both of those statements can be true at once, but Canales' comments suggest he is doing what he can to maximize Carolina's chances at victory against the Raiders. And the NFC South team could use a victory after going 2-15 last season and starting the 2024 campaign being outscored 73-13 in games against the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Chargers.

Sunday's 26-3 loss to the Chargers was ugly, as Young went 18-of-26 for just 84 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception while largely relying on dump-off passes instead of pushing the ball downfield.

"Since his first start in Carolina, the 5-foot-10 Young has never looked comfortable," Kevin Patra of NFL.com wrote. "Behind a porous offensive line, he's been scattershot, panicked in the pocket—rarely stepping up—has seen his mechanics go wonky, and repeatedly has made poor decisions. Young's play continued to plummet through the first two games of the 2024 season."

The struggles have been even more painful for the Panthers considering C.J. Stroud was the No. 2 overall pick of the 2023 draft and is already one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

He was the Offensive Rookie of the Year last season while leading the Houston Texans to the playoffs and is off to a 2-0 start in 2024. Perhaps if the Panthers had used the No. 1 pick on Stroud instead of Young, giving up DJ Moore and a treasure chest of draft picks—including the top pick in the 2024 draft—to the Chicago Bears via trade wouldn't look so poor in hindsight.

Now the 0-2 Panthers are hoping Dalton, who turns 37 in October, can turn back the clock and replicate some of the success he enjoyed with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2011 through 2015. It might be a long shot, though, as he is a combined 33-52-1 as a starter since 2016 and has started just one game since he was with the New Orleans Saints in 2022.

Canales has an offensive background and helped Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield find plenty of success in assistant roles before becoming the head coach of the Panthers this year.

The hope is he can one day do the same with Young.

But it will be Dalton under center in the meantime.