The Panthers may have ruined Bryce Young. Will he ever recover?

A little over a year ago, I was sitting with someone from the New York Jets and we were discussing where it all went wrong with Zach Wilson. It was a lengthy conversation about all manner of things that impact a young quarterback’s growth — from maturity to confidence to patience and team-building ideology. In the grand analysis of everything, the tapestry of errors made by the organization boiled down to one regret.

Wilson never should have started as a rookie. The team wasn’t built for his success, and he wasn’t built to overcome the organization’s shortcomings. And that ultimately fractured whatever he could have been for the Jets.

That’s the conversation I was thinking about Monday, when the new Carolina Panthers regime benched No. 1 overall draft pick Bryce Young after just two games this season. Young looked about as defeated as you can as a young quarterback. His body language — along with him just making the simplest of mistakes — ultimately led to this moment. Like Wilson with the Jets, something in his confidence looks broken. And it traces back to the punishment he took his rookie season behind an offensive line that was beaten up and ill-equipped to protect anyone, let alone a rookie quarterback.

Without a doubt, there’s a mental component here with Young — a confidence component — that is disrupting his ability to make some of the plays that he’s been making his entire life. At one point during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, Young badly missed wideout Adam Thielen on a simple third-and-2 throw into the slot position at the line of scrimmage. A free rusher came into his field of vision, but all Young needed to do was turn and make a quick, standard 5-yard throw. He missed it badly, zipping the ball nearly 3 yards in front of Thielen.

Later that day, an area scout who had done a lot of work on Young prior to the 2023 NFL Draft called me after seeing that clip.

“That’s so crazy. That’s a throw he would make 999 times out of a thousand coming out [of Alabama],” the scout said. “Sees the pressure, turns and throws to his short read. It’s just a wide handoff. They’ve got him so screwed up.”

It wasn’t an isolated opinion. A handful of personnel talent evaluators who I reached out to starting on Sunday shared a similar opinion that Young is a talented player who has gotten tangled in a messy franchise. And now he may need to get out and completely reboot somewhere else. That is becoming a familiar theme in Carolina that I’ll address later in this column.

Before we get to that, let’s address the important questions about Young.

Is Bryce Young done in Carolina?

If we’re letting history guide us, then yes — he’s probably done. I can’t think of the last time a player with this kind of perceived value to a franchise was benched this quickly in his second season. It’s a dramatic move. And it caught Young by surprise. Even in situations where the leadership of a team intends to calm things and search for another opportunity for a young quarterback later in the schedule, it rarely ever works out.

I spoke with a source who has an intimate understanding of what’s going on with Young and the coaching staff and front office, and the source painted this move as an effort to “stop the bleeding” and let Young “heal” — not as an ending to his career in Carolina. The source pointed out that Andy Dalton is signed through only the end of the season, so it’s an opportunity to sit Young down with the clarity that his replacement isn’t a long-term solution. In the meantime, he will watch a seasoned veteran and get a chance to mentally settle down.

Do I think that’s a 100 percent lock? No. Only because I think that team owner David Tepper is unpredictable and we’re still finding out how new head coach Dave Canales and new general manager Dan Morgan function beneath Tepper. This could be a sign of change from Tepper, where he’s letting Canales and Morgan make the call — even if it means ultimately bailing on Young. But Tepper’s history of meddling is what it is. If anything, this is all going to be an instructive moment that shows us how the franchise functions moving forward.

What was the final straw that led to the benching?

Thielen’s aggravation in the loss to the Chargers wasn’t great. But what I was told was that it was as much a body language red flag with Young as it was anyone else. He looked defeated and deflated against the Chargers. The coaching staff isn’t stupid when it comes to something like this. Keeping a quarterback in place when he’s as lost as Young has been this season only further damages the quarterback and any chance that he can regain footing.

Does Young have value to other NFL teams?

I think he does. When I talk to personnel people around the league and ask them if everyone was simply wrong in their draft assessments of Young, the response is similar. They all believe that Young still has the talent and tools to succeed in the NFL, and they all seem to believe that the culprit behind his failure is Carolina’s surrounding roster and organizational chaos.

Whether that opinion means Young has any real trade value is a whole other matter. I haven’t fished around on what his specific trade value is yet because I’m uncertain that Carolina wants to jettison him. And even if the Panthers do, highly drafted quarterbacks who get rug-pulled this fast don’t tend to have a ton of value. You could probably look at the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ trade of Kenny Pickett for guidance, which netted the franchise one third-round pick and a pair of seventh-rounders in exchange for Pickett and a fourth-rounder.

Before anyone gets into that kind of discussion, it’s best to wait and see what Dalton does in this opportunity. If he is equally bad, it probably says more about the roster and coaching than it does about the players.

If Young is finished, what are his future options?

We have to let the NFL and college football seasons unfurl a bit to really answer this. It’s not considered a great class of quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft, but we also haven’t seen everything to offer yet. As for veteran options, it’s not looking great at the moment. Perhaps Russell Wilson is the odd man out in Pittsburgh. Maybe Sam Darnold plays well enough this season for the Minnesota Vikings that it unexpectedly open a conversation about a J.J. McCarthy trade. Maybe you take a trade flyer on Detroit Lions backup Hendon Hooker or check with Seattle on Geno Smith.

At best, it’s a murky situation only two games into the season. For the entire league … and most definitely for the Panthers.

Now on to Week 2 of the QB Room …

• Sam Darnold’s 97-yard touchdown bomb to Justin Jefferson — 55 of which were air yards. Any time a guy steps up into the pocket with confidence and he’s squaring up 3 yards deep into his own end zone, it’s a masterpiece.

• Detroit Lions punter Jack Fox calmly throwing a 17-yard pass for a first down … on fourth-and-12 from his own 20. Aside from Lions head coach Dan Campbell being wild as hell for calling the play in the middle of the second quarter, Fox threw the ball from his 8-yard line. That seems like it has to be terrifying, but Fox looked like he had guts made of titanium.

• I’m going to cheat and give Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray a three-pack of throws squeezed into one. It was that kind of day for him. First there was his first touchdown to rookie Marvin Harrison Jr., which he dropped into the tiny expanse of a yard (!) between Harrison and the back of the end zone:

Second was Murray’s other touchdown pass to Harrison, which Murray threw leaning backward and off of one leg:

Finally, there was Murray’s absolutely bananas out-of-structure 18-yard touchdown to Elijah Higgins, which saw three Rams actually get a hand on the quarterback and fail to sack him. I screamed out loud on this play and my infatuation with healthy Kyler Murray was fully revived.

• The wild arm-talent + athleticism 60-yard completion from Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields to wideout George Pickens. A holding penalty negated the play, but they can never rip it from our memories. This is one of those plays that keeps pulling people back in on Fields’ ceiling. And rightfully so.

• The backward pass from Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis that turned into a fumble. That’s two straight weeks that Levis has generated a numbskull turnover that dramatically hurt his team. I’ll venture a guess that if he makes another one of these mistakes in Week 3 and it factors into a loss, he’ll be headed to the bench just like Bryce Young in Carolina.

Watching Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams get crushed by the Houston Texans on Sunday night, my mind wandered to the No. 2 pick in the draft, Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels. Like Williams, Daniels is playing behind an offensive line that is extremely troubling when it comes to protection. While Daniels has been sacked seven times through two games, he’s been far more assertive as a runner and much more effective as a passer than Williams. This despite playing with a less talented surrounding cast of skill position players.

Through two weeks, you can see what Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury is doing to protect the team’s offensive centerpiece. In a word: Hurry.

Daniels’ first two weeks of passing charts showcase a remarkable 22 (!) of his 53 attempts have been either at the line of scrimmage or behind it. Another 18 attempts have been inside 10 yards. That means Daniels — who was one of college football’s best deep-ball throwers in 2023 — has a grand total of 13 passes beyond 10 yards through two games. And of those 13, only one attempt has traveled over 20 yards. Without even looking at the film, the charts are screaming that Washington and Kingsbury are trying to protect Daniels by getting the ball out of his hand as quickly as possible. The result has been a staggering drop-off in the deep and intermediate ball opportunities for wideout Terry McLaurin (which you can see in his bottomed-out production thus far: 8 catches for 39 yards). The reality is intermediate-to-deep routes take time to develop, and the Commanders don’t seem to think they can afford Daniels hanging around waiting for that to happen behind this line.

The one encouraging sign for Daniels as a passer? You can see his passing chart loosen up from Week 1 to Week 2, taking more chances in intermediate areas. Daniels also doesn’t seem to have any issues getting shots into the middle of the field, which is a great sign. Many evaluators believed he had the chance to be a fearless passer into the middle of the field. It’s looking good so far.

Stock up

Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray

17-for-21, 266 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs; 5 rushes for 59 yards; 1 sack

Healthy Kyler Murray is the best Kyler Murray. And the best Kyler Murray often looks like a top-five quarterback in the league. This week, he had a perfect 158.3 quarterback rating. It underscores why some league talent evaluators were saying that, even at his lowest point in 2022, Murray’s tools still made him a tradable commodity that would have a couple teams lining up. In the Cardinals’ 41-10 blowout win over the Los Angeles Rams, Murray had three or four throws that were among the best you saw this week. This weekend’s outing against the Detroit Lions will be a statement game.

Minnesota Vikings’ Sam Darnold

17-for-26, 268 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; 5 rushes for 32 yards; 3 sacks

When I went through Vikings camp in August, the leadership in the franchise relayed that it believed Darnold might have a Geno Smith-esque career resurrection inside him. The foundation of that hope was seeing Darnold get with Kyle Shanahan and instantly start looking like he was improving. Knowing that Shanahan offense — which is essentially what Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell was running under Sean McVay as an offensive coordinator with the Rams — has been vital in Minnesota. Despite getting hit a few times, Darold looked patient and fairly comfortable in the pocket during the Vikings’ 23-17 statement win over the San Francisco 49ers. (See the “5 throws that blew my mind” above for the stunner Darnold put up this week.)

He has come a long way from the one-read-and-panic reputation he had his first few years with the New York Jets. And think about this: How much better could he look with wideout Jordan Addison and tight end T.J. Hockenson both on the field with Justin Jefferson?

Atlanta Falcons’ Kirk Cousins

20-for-29, 241 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT; 1 rushing TD; 1 sack

If there was a quarterback who needed a bounceback moment in Week 2, it was Kirk Cousins. There was unhinged speculation about the health of his Achilles following the 18-10 season-opening loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, which saw Cousins struggle with two interceptions. Week 2 on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles in the prime time Monday Night Football slot was a heck of a rebound stage, and Cousins delivered when it mattered most.

Not only did he bring the Falcons back from a six-point deficit with less than two minutes to play for a 22-21 win over the Eagles, he did it with a 70-yard drive that lasted just 65 seconds. That capped a great second half that saw Cousins put up a nearly flawless stat line, completing 13 of 16 passes for 166 yards and both of his touchdowns. This is how you quiet critics … and this is the stage to do it.

Stock down

Indianapolis Colts’ Anthony Richardson

17-for-34, 204 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs; 4 rushes for 37 yards; 1 sack

Mama said there’d be days like this … as did a lot of draft talent evaluators. As former NFL head coach Tony Dungy said about Richardson last week on an NBC broadcast, Richardson is going to produce a lot of highlights and a lot of lowlights. His performance against the Packers definitely fit the latter, with Richardson appearing to struggle with coverages and either sailing balls or throwing them into the middle of committee meetings. His interceptions were ugly.

The one thing I’d suggest is that everyone remember that this is still Richardson’s rookie season, essentially, after losing the majority of 2023 to injury. With that in mind, go back and look at Josh Allen’s rookie season in 2018. There were a lot of performances where he looked like Richardson did against the Packers.

The real opponent here is patience. If that’s rewarded with steady growth and improvement, this will all be fine. Just like it was with Allen.

Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa

17-for-25, 145 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs; 2 rushes for 17 yards; 1 sack

Not trying to be cruel or indelicate by putting Tagovailoa in this spot, but before he was reportedly headed to injured reserve, he wasn’t playing well prior to the third-quarter concussion forcing him from the loss to the Buffalo Bills. One of his interceptions was a bad decision, with Tagovailoa appearing to attempt to arm the ball out of bounds while under pressure. Another appeared to be wideout Robbie Chosen running an in-breaking route when Tagovailoa appeared to be throwing an out-breaking one.

He didn’t look as comfortable or effective with wideout Tyreek Hill taken away from the offense. And while I’m not going to blame him for suffering a concussion, it is always vital that he understands his situation when he tucks it and runs. Yes, football is a fast game and sometimes you take physical risks when you run with the ball. But at this point — if he returns — he has to condition himself that he can’t play that way. It’s too dangerous.

Jacksonville Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence

14-for-30, 220 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs; 2 rushes for 45 yards; 4 sacks

It’s Year 4, and we’re still talking about that elusive ceiling with Lawrence, which still seems far off. Sunday’s 18-13 home loss to the Cleveland Browns was a mediocre game, albeit against a very good defense. Still, this is the year in Lawrence’s career when he is supposed to be hitting his stride and the Jaguars should be asserting themselves as one of the AFC’s Super Bowl contenders. Instead, they’ve stumbled to 0-2 against two conference foes that are having their own issues getting their footing (the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland).

To be fair, head coach Doug Pederson did not call his best game against the Browns, making a handful of costly play-calling and clock management mistakes that didn’t help. The most concerning things? At times it seems like the play-calling doesn’t trust Lawrence, and the Jaguars’ offense doesn’t always seem to know what it’s doing when it gets into the red zone. The Jaguars made a five-year, $275 million commitment to Lawrence. Right now, the coaching isn’t helping him live up to it. Then again, Lawrence isn’t exactly playing at a consistently elite level, either.

• We’re all prisoners of the moment early in the NFL season, when some of the things we’re seeing aren’t real or sustainable. That said, it’s hard not to notice the value of some of these quarterback extensions. Some of the average-per-year values have been a little warped by franchises pushing money later into the deals to make room under their salary cap, but a few of the baseline deals look like sizable bargains right now. I’ll be curious to see how many of these get adjusted to keep up with where the market has gone the past two offseasons. Among them:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield: 3 years for $100 million ($33.3 million APY through 2026)

New Orleans Saints’ Derek Carr: 5 years for $150 million ($37.5 million APY through 2026)

Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen: 6 years for $258 million ($43 million APY through 2028)

Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes: 10 years for $450 million ($45 million APY through 2031)

Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray: 5 years for $230.5 million ($46.1 million APY through 2028)

If Mayfield’s start is indicative of where he’s going this season, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s push for a contract adjustment next offseason. He’s currently ranked 19th in the NFL in APY among quarterbacks and also has three non-quarterbacks ahead of him as well: the Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, the Dallas Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb and the San Francisco 49ers’ Nick Bosa. Next offseason, he’ll get pushed further down that list with other extensions landing.

As for Allen and Mahomes, both of their extensions are now wildly behind the quarterback market. Neither has pushed for an adjustment at this stage, but it’s hard to believe both players can stomach a $15 million-to-$17 million dollar annual gap between their salaries and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

• If the league’s MVP voting took place today, Josh Allen would be in a runoff with Derek Carr, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and Kyler Murray. There’s no way that lasts, but you’ve got to love the NFL’s unpredictable nature early in the season.

• The Carolina Panthers went through two of the aforementioned Week 2 MVP candidates — Mayfield and Darnold — to eventually get to Bryce Young. In fairness, I highly doubt either of those players would have found success in Carolina had the Panthers made any kind of long-term commitment to them. But it’s still got to hurt seeing both playing confident, high level football elsewhere.

• With the Los Angeles Rams’ 0-2 start and significant run of injuries, it’s hard to get it out of my mind that quarterback Matthew Stafford’s contract restructure in training camp moved his guaranteed money into 2024 — effectively making it easier for him to retire following this season. He’s already been hit hard a few times this season and that offensive line looks like it’s in trouble. And life certainly isn’t going to be easy without Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua for the next several weeks (or maybe months). If this all falls apart and Stafford takes a lot of punishment and goes through another season of mental grind, I wonder if that will push him closer to retirement.

• No Deebo Samuel Sr. No Christian McCaffrey. If there were ever a time that we see what 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is made of, it’s the next several weeks. Samuel and McCaffrey are the spine and heart of that offense. Losing them completely changes the dynamics of nearly everything — even with running back Jordan Mason stepping in admirably. This is where Kyle Shanahan finds out of Purdy is worth potentially becoming the highest-paid player in the NFL next offseason.

• Following the second straight week where Titans quarterback Will Levis tried to do waaaaay too much and created an awful turnover, head coach Brian Callahan was brutally honest about his expletive-laden reaction that was caught on camera. Sometimes an honest thing needs to be said. I appreciate that Callahan said it here. Take a listen.

• Until he costs the Pittsburgh Steelers a game with a poor performance or goes off the rails with turnovers, Justin Fields is going to be the starting quarterback. If not for some dumb penalties that weren’t his fault, Fields’ numbers would look much better. There is one quarterback on the roster capable of getting better and vaulting the Steelers ahead offensively in the next few years, and it’s not Russell Wilson. If Fields plays well against the Los Angeles Chargers and the Steelers win their third straight, there’s going to be enough momentum for head coach Mike Tomlin to name Fields the permanent No. 1 and move forward without the weekly “who’s starting?” question.

• I continue to love watching ESPN’s ManningCast whenever they talk about the actual football that is unfolding. The four minutes of Monday night’s broadcast that featured Peyton Manning basically speaking the Atlanta Falcons’ game-winning touchdown drive into existence … that is the show at its absolute best.

• Finally, a good piece of insight on the health and mindset of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa came from former New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi on Sunday morning. Unfortunately, people find a way to get bent out of shape no matter what opinion someone shares about Tua’s situation. But Bruschi gave a real assessment — whether you agree with it or not — of what goes through a player’s mind when they have to think about ending their career because of a health concern. As I said on social media, I think it’s worth your time to listen to what Bruschi said, if only to understand the “why” that motivates a player to risk his health on a football field.

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