All Panthers

Panthers great Jake Delhomme remains optimistic Bryce Young will pan out despite benching

Is there still a chance Bryce Young works out in Carolina?

Schuyler Callihan

David Butler II-Imagn Images
In this story:

While it may seem as if the Bryce Young era in Carolina is done and over with, that may not be the case. There are a few examples where starting quarterbacks were benched and bounced back to have really solid careers.

Former Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme hopes that's the case here with Young, citing a situation he remembers from the early 2000s during an interview on WFNZ radio on Tuesday.

“Absolutely. Listen, the first thing that I thought of yesterday, and you think of the Zach Wilson deal, but to me, that was just a different baby in itself. The New York deal and everything that surrounded it. But when Matt Hasselbeck left Green Bay and he went to Seattle, he got given the keys to the organization and he got him a little contract there. And I remember he got benched for the latter part of ’01 or ’02. Somewhere in there, he got benched for Trent Dilfer and he got benched so he could catch his breath. Trent was at that point in his career where he had won a Super Bowl, had done very well financially, whatever it may be. And I think Matt needed to catch his breath. That worked out perfectly for Matt. I can’t give you the answer why. I tried reading today and some of the things I found…there was an article where he said, ‘Listen, it was handed to me. I thought I had all the answers because I was around Brett Favre and I saw what he did. But I just didn’t.’ In essence, he said I’m thankful because it hardened me and it got me to where I needed to be. I’m hopeful this is the same case.”

When Young came out of college, he was the consensus No. 1 QB in the class. He was an elite processor, extremely accurate, and had good pocket awareness. So far in 18 games with the Panthers, he's looked like a completely different quarterback. You could argue that the Panthers mishandled his introduction to the league by throwing him to the wolves right away with a poor offensive line and zero weapons to get the ball to as a rookie. Now, that confidence appears to be shattered and the only way he can regain it is by taking a step back and observing.

- Enjoy more free Panthers coverage with Carolina Panthers on SI -

3 potential trade destinations for Panthers quarterback Bryce Young

Jeff Saturday sounds off on Tepper, Panthers’ handling of Young

Panthers updated depth chart with Andy Dalton starting at QB

Stephen A. Smith puts Bryce Young in JaMarcus Russell territory

Published
Schuyler Callihan
SCHUYLER CALLIHAN

Home/News