After Carolina lost to the Los Angeles Chargers 26-3 on Sunday, Panthers coach Dave Canales said: “Bryce Young is our quarterback.”
But on Monday it appears Canales meant Young is one of the team’s quarterbacks, with the Charlotte Observer, NFL Network and ESPN reporting backup Andy Dalton will start under center when Carolina plays the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
The Panthers’ loss to the Chargers came after Carolina opened the season with a 47-10 setback against the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 8.
Young has completed 31-of-56 passes for 245 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions and run five times for 18 yards and one touchdown in 2024. He’s been sacked six times.
The 2021 Heisman Trophy winner at Alabama, Young joined the Panthers as the first selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Young completed 315-of-527 passes for 2,877 yards with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 16 games as the Carolina Panthers posted a 2-15 record in 2023. (Young missed one game with an ankle injury.) Young’s passing-efficiency rating of 73.7 was the worst in the NFL among the league’s regular quarterbacks. He also was sacked 62 times.
Carolina fired head coach Frank Reich 11 games into Young’s rookie season. After special-teams coordinator Chris Tabor held the reins for the rest of the campaign, the Panthers hired Canales, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator, and cleaned house on the offensive side of the coaching staff during the offseason.
But after the Carolina offense produced the fewest yards and tied for the fewest points in 2023, the Panthers have 13 points and 352 yards two games into 2024, with a conversion rate of 2-of-22 on third down.
Dalton served as Young’s backup last season and started the game the rookie missed.
In his 14th NFL season, Dalton was a Pro Bowl selection in 2011, 2014 and 2016 and has started 163 regular-season and four playoff games.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
