The Carolina Panthers will start Andy Dalton instead of Bryce Young at quarterback against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, coach Dave Canales announced on Monday.
The 2021 Heisman Trophy winner at Alabama and No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Young started 16 games as a rookie and the first two games of the 2024 season.
One of those reacting to Canales’ decision was LeBron James. The Los Angeles Lakers forward and NBA’s career scoring leader had a message for the young quarterback, which he shared via social media.
“Bryce Young, hold ya head Young (prince emoji)!” James wrote. “Rooting for you and know this ain’t on you! Continue to put the work in and it shall prevail!”
The Panthers benched Young after losing to the New Orleans Saints 47-10 on Sept. 8 and Los Angeles Chargers 26-3 on Sept. 15. Young completed 31-of-56 passes for 245 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions.
Over the past 14 NFL seasons, only one quarterback with at least 50 passes has had a passing-efficiency rating worse than Young’s 44.1 two games into a season. Ryan Fitzpatrick was at 39.9 after the Miami Dolphins’ first two games in 2019. He was benched for Josh Rosen. But after three games, Fitzpatrick returned to the lineup and started the final 11 of the season.
Dalton said he didn’t expect Young to be benched.
“It’s a tough situation,” Dalton said. “I’ve been on both sides of it. It’s hard on everybody, but for me I’m looking forward to it.”
In Young’s rookie season, the Panthers posted a 2-15 record, with Dalton starting a 37-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 24 with Young out because of an ankle injury. Carolina had its season high of 334 passing yards in that game.
Young completed 315-of-527 passes for 2,877 yards with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. That came under two head coaches. The Panthers fired Frank Reich after 11 games, and special-teams coordinator Chris Tabor held the reins for the remainder of the season. Canales came aboard in January after serving as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator.
“Bryce and I are really close,” Dalton said. “It’s tough sitting in that position, hearing that you’re not going to be starting and all the emotions that come with it. And so it is tough to be there. Hopefully, our friendship and everything that we’ve built since the moment he got here will stay, and I know it will. I think he even said it in his press conference after the game, like, hard times, it’s where your true colors show. For him, I think he’s going to come out and be the same person. But I feel for the whole situation. It’s not fun for anybody.”
Dalton said he’s “very confident” Young would rebound from the benching.
“He’s made up the right way,” Dalton said. “Who knows what’s going to happen? But for him, I know that he’s got the right character traits, what he believes in, and that’s going to carry him far beyond this right now.”
Dalton is in his 14th NFL season. He was the Cincinnati Bengals’ starting quarterback for his first nine seasons and was picked for the Pro Bowl three times. Since then, he played for the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and Saints before coming to Carolina last year. He has started 30 games since leaving Cincinnati.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
