Dave Canales shuts down Bryce Young rumor
By Max Weisman
The Carolina Panthers announced Monday that they would be benching Bryce Young, the number one pick in the 2023 NFL draft, after a second straight abysmal performance to open the season. Andy Dalton will replace Young as the Panthers signal caller Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Panthers first-year head coach Dave Canales put his faith in Young Wednesday, saying he believes Young can still be a franchise quarterback for the Panthers.
Canales was asked if Carolina was thinking about trading Young after a 2-16 start to his NFL career and an 0-2 start this season in which the Panthers have been outscored 73-13.
"That's not something we're really considering," Canales told reporters. We have a great situation with our quarterbacks right now, with guys that have experience, so we love where we're at. We're all hands on deck focusing on playing the Raiders this week.
#Panthers coach Dave Canales was asked about the possibility of trading former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young: "That's not something we're really considering."
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 18, 2024
Canales said it's all hands on deck for this week and that he believes Young can be a franchise QB.
While Young is only 18 games into his NFL career, Canales could be deflecting trade rumors due to how big an organizational failure it would be to trade Young. Carolina gave up the farm for the 2023 number-one overall pick in a trade with the Chicago Bears. The Panthers traded wide receiver D.J. Moore, their 2023 first and second-round picks, their 2024 first-rounder and a 2025 second-rounder for what turned out to be Young.
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The trade is one of a few that has seemed to sink Carolina in recent years. In 2022, the Panthers traded star running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers for a second, third and fourth-round draft pick in 2023 and a fifth-round pick in 2024. In March, Carolina sent linebacker Brian Burns to the New York Giants for a 2024 second-round pick, a pick swap in the 2024 draft's fifth round and a 2025 fifth-rounder.
As some of those draft picks haven't been used yet, Carolina might be holding onto Young until they can fully evaluate the effectiveness of those trades. For now though, Young will ride the bench with career stats of 3,122 yards, 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
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