NFL Network reported on Sunday morning that Bryce Young’s removal from the Carolina Panthers’ lineup was more of a break than a benching, with the former Alabama All-American quarterback expected to return to the starting spot this season.
But the day after Andy Dalton threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns in a 36-22 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders and eight days after he had said, “Bryce Young is our quarterback,” Carolina coach Dave Canales said on Monday: “Andy’s our quarterback. He gives us our best chance to win. That’s the approach as we get ready for the Bengals.”
In the first two games of the season, Young passed for 245 yards and extended his drought to 108 passes without a touchdown throw.
Two days short of the one-year anniversary of his previous start, Dalton became the first quarterback in the NFL’s 2024 season with a 300-yard, three-touchdown game, a feat matched on Monday night by Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow.
Canales said Young did a good job in his first week as a backup in the NFL. Since joining the Panthers as the first pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, Young had started 18 games and missed one with an ankle injury.
“He was consistent in his leadership,” Canales said, “the way he connects with the guys, the way that he continued to connect with people, to add that value of the experiences, because now you talk about a guy who’s got 18 games of experience under his belt, to be able to see the game and bring those things, and he certainly did that.”
Carolina center Austin Corbett said Young would benefit from watching Dalton’s work as the starting quarterback.
“He’s handled this incredibly,” Corbett said on Monday. “It’s not a fun situation. It’s not anything — when you’re dreaming of going to the NFL, this is not the moment that you expect. But he’s been amazing this entire week of still being locked in with the protection meetings and all the other meetings, and in practice, leading the scout team there. On the sideline, still coming over and talking to us, seeing stuff on the Surface there of all the pictures of coverages and run schemes. Still acting and treating it as normal, and that’s just a credit to Bryce and just who he is as a person, understanding this game and what he wants to be as a competitor is to continue to grow and just be the best that he can be. …
“Bryce can get the job done. He’s going to watch Andy, he’s going to learn from him. It’s going to be great for him. And Bryce is going to have just as much fun whenever his time comes.”
The Panthers play Cincinnati at noon CDT Sunday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
