What does the old Nationwide Insurance ad say? “Life comes at you fast.”
Actually it is.
Just ask Bryce Young, the quarterback once hailed as the savior of the Carolina Panthers. On Sunday afternoon, despite another poor showing by the 2023 No. 1 overall pick, Panthers coach Dave Canales pledged his loyalty to Young. Less than 24 hours later, Canales announced that he had decided to move Young off the field in favor of Andy Dalton, a 14-year NFL veteran.
“Bryce is our quarterback” quickly changed to “Andy gives us the best chance to win,” as Canales desperately sought to stop the bleeding after the Panthers were blown 73-13 in their first two games of the season after going 0-2.
Young endured a troubled rookie season and is already playing for his third coach in 17 months. His rookie struggles have carried over into Year 2. In his 2024 start, he completed just 55.4 percent of his passes for 245 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions.
Young’s removal from the bench just two games into the Panthers’ rebuilding season raises a whole host of questions about the wisdom and foresight of Carolina’s officials. Young’s rapid fall from grace is yet another example of the impatience and impulsiveness that so often govern (and confound) the decisions of NFL quarterbacks.
But another once-promising prospect is now in danger of bankruptcy. Another team is still stuck in purgatory. And with a familiar story unfolding, and other young quarterbacks struggling out of the gate this season, it seems as if the NFL is suffering from a quarterback development crisis.
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Does Bryce Young’s removal from the starting lineup mark the beginning of the end for his first-round pick last year?
A national champion and Heisman Trophy winner at Alabama, Young seemed destined to become an NFL star. His diminutive height (5 feet 10 inches, 204 pounds) gave some talent evaluators pause. But many also believed that the precision, poise, athleticism, tireless work ethic, exceptional football IQ, keen instincts and competitive edge that Young had shown in college would more than make up for his lack of size.
Instead, Young didn’t even feel competent.
Is he to blame for some of his shortcomings? Sure. But it was inevitable that Young would fail in his first season with a dysfunctional team and coaching staff. He ended up going 14-2 while throwing 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. C.J. Stroud, the Texans’ pick after Young, won Offensive Rookie of the Year.
But Stroud is unlikely to have the same success in Carolina as he did in Houston, which went 10-7 and reached the divisional round of the playoffs under new coach DeMicco Ryans. In Carolina, there were:
1. There are too many cooks in the kitchen between direct owner David Tepper, head coach Frank Reich (who lasted only 11 games), offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, senior offensive assistant Jim Caldwell, quarterbacks coach Josh McCown and assistant coach Duke Staley.
2. There are too many holes in the roster. Few (if any) midfielders would thrive with such an unstable backroom staff.
Canales was supposed to help Young reset, similar to the way he helped Geno Smith in Seattle and Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay revive their careers as an assistant. But he already made the awkward decision to sit Young out of the first two preseason games instead of giving him repetitions to help him grow, and now this.
Panthers coach Dave Canales will start Andy Dalton (right) in Sunday’s game against the Raiders. (Stephen Liu/Image Images)
Will time as an observer help Young better understand NFL quarterbacks? Time will tell.
We know that removing Young, who has been sacked 68 times in 18 career games, won’t fix the Panthers’ other shortcomings in offensive talent. Yes, some of the quarterbacks who were sacked too often deserve blame for holding onto the ball too long. But Carolina’s offensive line isn’t very good.
Switching from Young to Dalton won’t suddenly improve the defense’s defense, which has allowed 36.5 points per game, the highest in the league. But the Panthers, like many teams before them, seem to believe that a great quarterback can mask many of their shortcomings. Yes, a great quarterback can lift a team, but even Patrick Mahomes can’t cure all of Carolina’s ills.
We don’t know how Young’s story will play out, but based on his handling of the situation last season and Monday’s surprise decision, the Panthers made a huge mistake at quarterback.
And they’re not alone. Just look at the 2021 NFL Draft class. No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence remains with the Jaguars, but fellow first-round quarterbacks Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields and Mac Jones have all moved on from the teams that selected them.
In terms of development, Young wasn’t ready last season, and he doesn’t appear to be anywhere near ready this year. Carolina committed the all-too-familiar offense in 2023 of drafting a prized quarterback and throwing him to the wolves before he was ready to perform at a high level and before the roster around him was strong enough to help compensate for his shortcomings. The Panthers’ roster this season remains full of holes. Young’s struggles, coupled with Canales’ decision to bench him so quickly, suggest that the youngster shouldn’t have opened this season as a starter.
Many teams feel pressure to sign a star midfielder as a starter on day one, even though those expectations are still nascent and their new teams have very shaky foundations. This defies logic. You can’t give a teenager with a driver’s license the keys to an old car and expect him to drive across the state safely. So why expect miracles from a pro midfielder in his first year?
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There are certainly times when a rookie quarterback doesn’t help himself. Maybe he doesn’t study as hard as he should. Or maybe he keeps repeating the same mistakes. Often times when a quarterback experiment goes wrong, there are whispers about poor work ethic and discipline. But if a young quarterback isn’t acting like a pro, if he isn’t showing the growth, discipline and dedication necessary to hold down a starting job, don’t give him the nod from the start. Make him earn it.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with telling a midfielder he’s not ready. But do it from the start instead of ignoring all the red flags and justifying the decision to start him because of the top draft pick that was used to bring him in.
Hesitation and impatience serve no one’s interests. A team with a young midfielder has two options:
• Commit to developing as you play and accept that things will get worse before they get better. Remember: The great Peyton Manning held the NFL record for interceptions (28) and won only three games as a rookie. Troy Aikman never lost a game as a rookie before winning three Super Bowls.
• Or, play the long game. Draft and develop your quarterback while bolstering the roster he will eventually inherit, then start using him once the growth becomes apparent.
Too many NFL coaches have a hard time taking a conservative approach to dealing with young quarterbacks.
It’s a well-known fact that young pass rushers’ best friend is the strong, passing attack that comes as a byproduct of running. But instead of adopting a run-first mentality to ease the load and force the defense to back off to buy more time for the quarterback, young, undeveloped quarterbacks are backing off 30 and 40 times a game. That’s where the big mistakes come in.
Passing on early attempts (and subsequent incomplete attempts) leads to situations where the quarterback has to hold onto the ball longer as the play develops. This puts more pressure on the offensive line (which may or may not be good), and makes the quarterback an easy target for shots.
Most young quarterbacks also lack the basic understanding of defensive techniques necessary to succeed. In many of Young’s interceptions, it’s clear that he either doesn’t see the defenders or doesn’t realize he’s being set up by a disguised cover. He throws these interceptions with confidence—throwing the ball downfield without hesitation… only for a defender to pounce and catch it out of the air.
Ultimately, young midfielders who make mistakes are reprimanded or blamed for poor decisions, when in fact they would never have been in such situations in the first place.
Broncos coach Sean Payton had rookie Bo Nix drop 77 times, third-most in the league. That set Nix up for some puzzling decisions on his way to a league-high four interceptions (tied with the Colts’ Anthony Richardson) and a terrible 51.0 passer rating. The Bears’ 2024 No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams, who has been overwhelmed by the heavy passing load and speed of the NFL game, struggled to get off the ball right away. Meanwhile, Titans second-year pro Will Levis made some deadly mistakes while looking like a quarterback who would benefit greatly from a year or two as a backup.
Why don’t coaches realize how their overly aggressive tactics are hampering the performance of their midfielders? We have plenty of examples of how effective even an average midfielder can be when his playmaker is committed to supporting him with a balanced game plan.
Consider Sunday’s game in Green Bay, where Matt LaFleur put the much-criticized Malik Willis in a good position to succeed just three weeks after his trade to the Packers. LaFleur passed the ball to quarterback Josh Jacobs 32 times, and Jacobs finished with 151 yards. The Packers threw 21 more passes (six to Willis) and finished with 261 yards. Willis, meanwhile, was asked to throw just 14 times. He completed 12 passes for 122 yards, a touchdown, no interceptions and a passer rating of 126.8.
Compare that to the workload and ineffectiveness of Richardson, his game-day counterpart. The second-year pro, playing in just his sixth game, dropped 34 times and completed just 17 passes for 204 yards, one score and three interceptions. It wasn’t the most impressive performance, but Willis helped the Packers to a 16-10 victory. Let’s say I was too conservative and took a win over three confidence-shattering interceptions and lost any day.
The NFL might need an application process where teams in need of a quarterback have to lay out a clear and effective plan to develop a promising player in order to get drafted. I’m kidding. But now more than ever — when quarterbacks spend less time in college and enter the NFL more mature than ever — NFL decision-makers need to exercise greater patience when developing and managing young quarterbacks.
Hasty, impatient approaches kill careers and push franchises into years of stagnation. When that happens, heads roll—and rightfully so.
(Top image: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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