After news of quarterback Bryce Young’s benching by the Carolina Panthers this week, several teams have expressed interest in trading for the 2023 No. 1 overall pick, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
The Panthers have been contacted by “certain teams,” according to Schefter, while other teams have pondered a Young trade within their own organizations. Schefter did not name any of the teams in his report.
The formal inquiries come despite head coach Dave Canales saying the Panthers don’t intend to trade Young.
The Alabama Crimson Tide product’s NFL career couldn’t have gotten off to a rockier start after one full season and two weeks of the 2024 campaign, prompting Canales to call upon veteran Andy Dalton to take over under centre against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
Young started 16 games in the 2023 season, registering a 2-14 record with 11 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, a 59.8 completion percentage and a 73.7 passer rating.
Things got even worse to start this season, as the Panthers fell to 0-2 and Young’s numbers looked even worse with zero passing touchdowns, three interceptions and a 44.1 passer rating. Carolina was outscored 73-13 combined by the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Chargers in the first two weeks
To get the 2023 first-overall pick and select Young, the Panthers traded up eight spots with the Chicago Bears, sending wide receiver D.J. Moore and four draft picks to the Windy City — one of which turned out to be the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft after the Panthers finished a league-worst 2-15 last season. The Bears used that pick to take quarterback Caleb Williams.
In 2019, the Arizona Cardinals traded away their 2018 10th-overall selection, quarterback Josh Rosen, after a failed season netted them the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. The Cardinals received a third-round pick from the Miami Dolphins for Rosen.
