Dave Canales' decision to bench Bryce Young is the right call for the Panthers' present and future

Matt Alquiza | Sep 16, 2024

Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Dave Canales and the Carolina Panthers were left with no choice.

The eight months leading up to the Carolina Panthers 2024 season opener were packed with unbridled optimism. Optimism that things would be different than the disaster class that was 2023. Optimism that Dave Canales could save save the Panthers' flailing franchise quarterback that they mortgaged their future for. Optimism that things would finally start to turn around after six years of futile attempts at playing football in Charlotte.

Training camp painted a rosy picture

The buzz around training camp was littered with rainbows and butterflies. Canales was going to let Young play wild and free. The quarterback had regained the confidence in his talents that escaped him at some point during the Reich era. Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis were the perfect hand-picked reinforcements for the leaky interior offensive line. Diontae Johnson and Xavier Legette brought field-tilting skills to a depleted battalion of perimeter weapons.

The optimism that prevailed in the months between January and September quickly gave way to the familiar sinking feeling that Panthers football has cast over it's fans for nearly a decade.

The Bryce Young era came in like a lion. The gutsy trade with the Bears that landed the number one pick in Charlotte. The unflinching confidence that Carolina had their guy despite CJ Stroud's Rookie of the Year campaign. The fact that Young's swashbuckling off-script skills that delivered a Heisman Trophy to Tuscaloosa were coming to Charlotte had folks around the organization excited, finally, for the first time in the post-COVID NFL era, for the future.

Womp womp.

The Bryce Young era came in like a lion, but exited like a lamb. On an innocuous, rainy, Monday afternoon following a blowout loss to a more talented team that has become the norm on Mint Street. Bryce Young has officially been benched for veteran quarterback Andy Dalton, and it is unequivocally the right call by Dave Canales and his crew. Bryce Young was wholly unable to move the offense down the field. Plain and simple. And for a regime in full-on evaluation mode early in their tenure, veteran backup turned starter Andy Dalton gives the team their best shot at figuring out which of the 51 non-quarterbacks on the roster are worth investing in.

Full-on evaluation mode

Evaluation is the name of the game for Canales and his staff from here on out. Does Andy Dalton give the Panthers a better shot at winning games than Bryce Young? Absolutely. If nothing else Dalton is going to stand tall in the pocket and deliver throws downfield. Something that Young was unwilling to do early on in his career.

However, the roster that Dalton will lead on to the field is still short on talent. Expecting Dalton to lead a playoff push is naive. Expecting Dalton to give guys like Xavier Legette, Ja'Tavion Sanders, Jonathan Mingo, and Diontae Johnson chances to make plays on the ball is the bare minimum. An expectation that Bryce Young couldn't bring to fruition.

2025 will likely bring another long-term starting quarterback to Charlotte. Whether it be from the draft, through free agency, or via trade, neither Dalton nor Young should be projected to start week one in 2025. The most important job for Dave Canales from now until September of next year is to figure out which players on the roster will be still be around come week one of 2025.

Are any of the inexperienced defensive players (think Trevin Wallace, Eku Leota, DJ Johnson, etc.) worth developing further? What does the offense have in it's trio of rookie skill position players? Can Ikem Ekwonu (who played arguably the best game of his young career on Sunday) anchor the blindside? These are the burning questions that deserve answers, and Andy Dalton gives Canales the best shot at finding answers to them.

Canales lives up to his word

During Canales' opening press conference, he expressed his desire to make Bryce Young one of eleven players on a unified offense. He immediately took the pressure off of the embattled quarterback, promising to build a solid team around him so he didn't have to cosplay Superman every week.

Canales and general manager Dan Morgan were successful in that venture. The Panthers' rebuilt offensive line was performing as one of the league's best through two weeks. The retooled weaponry was finding space in the secondary. Bryce Young was unable to take advantage of the improved surroundings, and now, he'll have a chance to watch a 13-year veteran take the reins of the improved outfit.

For the other 51 players on the roster, the move to Dalton is a reprieve. It's impossible to imagine how demoralizing it is for an offense to step onto the field with confidence in it's signal caller dwindling. And for a defense already at a disadvantage due to the offseason talent drain? It got to the point on Sunday afternoon that they barely had a chance to take off their helmets and speak to their position coaches before getting pummeled over and over again by J.K. Dobbins and the Chargers' relentless rushing attack.

From here out, with Dalton under center, the Carolina Panthers are going to play better football. It probably won't lead to wins. It sure as heck won't lead to the playoffs. But it will give Canales and Dan Morgan are clearer picture of what the future of Carolina Panthers football looks like. And for fans of the team that have been staring at a jumbled mess of tarot cards trying to figure out what is next on Mint Street, the clean slate in the building that will ultimately come from this decision will be a welcomed sight.

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