Bryce Young is no longer the Carolina Panthers’ starting quarterback. Young was swapped out for Andy Dalton by Dave Canales – and with the announcement, Young’s head coach at Alabama, Nick Saban, looks like a genius.
Saban didn’t have his best offensive line in front of Young, with penalties and blown protection being a highlight in 2022 in particular, but the undersized QB was a Heisman winner. He looked like the best player in the country and a deserving No. 1 NFL draft pick in 2023.
Now, the Panthers trading the ranch to the Chicago Bears for the rights to draft young is being called by CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan “arguably the worst trade ever.”
“Carolina missed out on Stroud by taking Young over him and then lost out on Williams because Young and the team couldn't manage better than a 2-15 record in the regular season,” Sullivan wrote.
“If Stroud continues on the path that the NFL saw during his rookie season and Williams lives up to his hype, this benching of Young could signify arguably the worst trade in recent memory, if not ever. Oh, and the Bears still have another blue-chip pick (Carolina's 2025 second-rounder) on the horizon.”
Bryce Young can still be an NFL QB, but chances appear slim Panthers will start him again
Young’s NFL career isn’t over yet. Sports Illustrated’s Matt Alquiza tabbed the Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders, and LA Rams as potential landing spots. There’s still a chance he gets to play for the Panthers again this season if something happens to Dalton.
But barring that, it’s hard to see Carolina giving Young another chance anytime soon. 2-16 is enough evidence for the Panthers to know their experiment with Saban’s former star isn’t working at the pro level.
