What is up with Bryce Young?

It’s already Week 3 of the NFL season and we have a team that is already in complete turmoil. And if you thought the worst team in the NFL last season was most likely to be that same team stuck in turmoil again, you would be correct. It’s the Carolina Panthers once more.

Last season, the Panthers were a team with optimism. They had a shiny new toy in first overall pick, quarterback Bryce Young, and new head coach Frank Reich who was well known throughout the league for getting the best out of his quarterbacks. He even was able to assemble what people considered an “all-star” coaching staff.

It ended up being a disaster. The team looked genuinely awful under Reich, awful enough for Reich to be fired in the middle of the season. The offense was all out of sorts, especially Bryce Young. He looked like a deer in headlights.

This year was supposed to be different, with a new head coach in Dave Canales, a guy who was considered responsible for improving the likes of Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield and adding wide receivers in the offseason such as Diontae Johnson and Xavier Legette, this was meant for one thing: to help fix Bryce Young and show everyone why he was the No. 1 pick.

Through the first two games, another disaster. The team has been outscored 73-13. The offense has been putrid, and Bryce Young has looked short on confidence and already has been benched in favor of Andy Dalton.

After being benched, should we be asking this question: is Bryce Young the biggest bust in Panthers history already?

Unfortunately, if this is the last we see of Bryce Young on the Panthers, or if he continues his current play, then yes.

I think Bryce Young is a very talented quarterback. Most people would tell you the same. Anyone telling you that CJ Stroud was always going to be better is lying to you. At Alabama, he showed great poise in the pocket, accuracy, and that he would make a great NFL quarterback.

The only knock on him was his height, but if you watched prime Russell Wilson, or currently Baker Mayfield or Kyler Murray, height is not the end-all-be-all for a quarterback.

But this situation is an organizational failure on the Panthers for why Young has struggled. And I’m not saying that to defend Bryce Young’s performance, he has not played well either. But for a quarterback to thrive early in their career, they need a stable franchise. The Panthers have not been that.

Owner David Tepper has been considered a very meddling owner since purchasing the Panthers in 2018. He has gone through four head coaches since the purchase and the first three were fired in the middle of the season.

He along with former general manager Scott Fitterer have made decisions that have sent the team back years, especially the trade they made for Bryce Young, where they gave up DJ Moore and the pick the Bears used for Caleb Williams, who they hope is their franchise quarterback.

Bryce Young is in Year 2, with a new head coach/play caller who had no say in drafting him, expected to carry the weight of this franchise on his back. Many quarterbacks would fail in such an unstable situation.

I still believe in Bryce Young, but whether it is with Carolina or another team, he just needs stability and confidence to show everyone the quarterback he was supposed to become.

But for the Panthers, he’s currently the biggest bust for a franchise that gave up so much for them to be in their current position.

Adam Funk is a fourth-year majoring in telecommunications & media industries. To contact him, please email aqf5569@psu.edu.