Luke Kuechly on how early benching helped Bryce Young and the Panthers

Kuechly tells Kay Adams how Dave Canales' big decision turned the season around.

Tim Weaver | 4 Hours Ago

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 24: Former Carolina Panthers player Luke Kuechley looks on prior to a game between the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs at Bank of America Stadium on November 24, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. / (Photo by Matt Kelley/Getty Images)

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Carolina Panthers

Before the 2024 season began for the Carolina Panthers, we shared a few reasons to be optimistic about the coming campaign. Our best-case scenario predictions included a 7-10 finish, a Most Improved Player of the Year award for Bryce Young and a Coach of the Year nod for Dave Canales. None of that happened, but with a few breaks here and there in a couple of close games all of them might have had a shot.

What turned the Panthers' season around after a brutal start was the bold decision by Canales to bench Young after two games. While Young didn't give his rookie head coach much of a choice, it was far from a unanimously popular call to make, but it didn't take long for the move to prove correct. Canales eventually made another sharp decision by deciding to stick with Young when he started his rise after midseason when he returned to the lineup.

If Canales had not navigated those QB calls correctly, the Panthers very easily could have finished with another 2-15 record, or even worse. Here's franchise legend Luke Kuechly talking to Kay Adams on her most recent podcast about how the benching turned the vibes (and the season) around.

Luke Kuechly on Bryce Young benching

HoF finalist @LukeKuechly says currently the vibes are HIGH for the #Panthers. 🙌 📈

So was Bryce Young's early season benching the RIGHT move? 👀 👀@heykayadams @Panthers | #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/8rt2QXGBmq
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) January 9, 2025

As Kuechly mentions, there's a lot to like on the offensive side of the ball, including a strong backfield led by Young and Chuba Hubbard and a great offensive line. If they can upgrade their wide receiver corps we might see a top-10 scoring offense on the field next season.

The defense is another story, though. While there are some quality individual pieces the overall picture is pretty dismal going into the offseason. General manager Dan Morgan will have to expend a lot of resources to upgrade all three levels of the defense in order to bring it up to even a mediocre level compared to the rest of the league.