CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — When coach Dave Canales benched 2023 No. 1 draft pick Bryce Young two weeks into the season, he said it was because veteran Andy Dalton gave the Carolina Panthers the best chance to win.
He may have been right — and he may still be right.
But now, with the Panthers (1-6) on a four-game skid with Dalton under center, injuries piling up and the defense among the NFL’s worst ever, they seem destined to wind up with a top five pick in the 2025 draft, if not No. 1 overall. That means, of course, they would have their choice of one of the top quarterbacks coming out of college next April.
So it would seem it’s time to find out, for better or worse, where owner David Tepper, general manager Dan Morgan and Canales stand on Young — assuming they haven’t already made up their minds.
The Panthers need to play Young again.
But Canales doesn’t think so.
He defended his decision Monday to continue to start Dalton this week at Denver.
“I completely sensitive to the questions and they are not unfounded and unbased,” Canales said after being asked about why the team won’t play Young. “From my perspective I’m trying to get a team to continue to take strides and take steps and that is where my focus has to be. It has to be on getting Andy to play his best football.”
Young’s first tenure as a starter was a disaster. He went 2-14 as a rookie and then flopped in his first two starts this season, resulting in his sudden benching before a Week 3 game against the Raiders.
Dalton initially gave the Panthers a boost with a win at Las Vegas, but his production has steadily declined. On Sunday against the Commanders, the 36-year-old was limited to 93 yards passing with two first-quarter interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown on the offense’s opening series. The result was a lopsided 40-7 loss.
Make no doubt, the Panthers have a lot invested in Young.
They traded away four picks and top wide receiver D.J. Moore to move up eight spots in the draft to select Young over C.J. Stroud.
But Tepper, a hedge fund billionaire, he has been quick to cut ties when he thinks he’s made a bad investment. Look no further than Matt Rhule, Frank Reich, Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield.
There is no real downside to playing Young at this point.
If he happens to turn things around, the Panthers can continue to build around him and look toward the future. And, if still not convinced, Young at least will have raised his trade value.
On the flip side if Young continues struggle and lose games, the Panthers will be well positioned to draft a QB and once and for all move on from what thus far has been a colossal mistake and may go down as one of the worst trades in NFL history.
Canales said after benching Young the team had no plans to trade him.
When asked about it on Monday, he responded, “again hypotheticals. That is stuff that Dan (Morgan) and (executive vice president of football operations) Brandt Tilis will be talking through, all of those different processes. Right now my focus is to get us back to playing good football.”
What’s working
We’re going to need to skip this category because there isn’t much working for the Panthers. The defense has surrendered a whopping 243 points through seven games, which is tied for the third most in the Super Bowl era. Only the 1973 Oilers and 1966 Falcons (250 each) have given up more. The Panthers ruled out eight players because of injuries before the game and three other key starters, DE Derrick Brown, LB Shaq Thompson and C Austin Corbett, have been lost for the season, while WR Adam Thielen is still on injured reserve. The offense hasn’t been much better outside a running game that at times has shown flashes.
What needs help
The Panthers’ run defense entered the game ranked 30th in the league and then proceeded to allow the Commanders to rack up 214 yards on the ground. Injuries have cost the Panthers at linebacker, where four players were ruled out before the game.
Stock up
Backup RB Miles Sanders had perhaps his best game with the Panthers, accounting for 95 yards on nine touches. He had six receptions for 61 yards. Sanders remains behind the hard-running Chuba Hubbard, who accounted for Carolina’s touchdown on the ground. Carolina should be getting rookie RB Jonathan Brooks on the field in the next couple of weeks, adding to the team’s depth at that position and potentially making Hubbard or Sanders expendable with the trade deadline coming up.
Stock down
Canales. The first-year head coach is an overwhelmingly upbeat and positive person, but this season has to be starting to get to him. He’s not getting the job done in Carolina as his team hasn’t even been competitive in five of the seven games it has played this season.
Injuries
Carolina appeared to come out of the game injury-free. However, the Panthers came into the game extremely banged up, with eight players ruled out before the weekend, including OLB Jadeveon Clowney, and ILBs Claudin Cherelus, Josey Jewell and Jon Rhattigan, which left the Panthers vulnerable to the run. WR Adam Thielen’s status is uncertain heading into Week 8, but he would certainly give the offense a big boost if he’s able to return.
Key number
154-62 — Margin by which the Panthers have been outscored in the first half this season.
Next steps
The Panthers head to Denver (4-3) on Sunday looking to break a four-game slide. Carolina has lost 12 of its past 13 games on the road going back to last season.
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