Beat writer gives potential Panthers' timeline for Bryce Young's reintroduction
By Dean Jones
With the Carolina Panthers bracing themselves for another losing season with nothing much to play for other than pride over the second half of 2024, fans are wondering how those in power will approach matters.
Will they keep faith with veteran pieces to salvage some semblance of respectability from the campaign? Or will they give younger individuals more opportunities as part of their ongoing assessments before the 2025 offseason?
It's a tricky conundrum for head coach Dave Canales. He wants to build some momentum and not face any questions about his future with little success to speak of. At the same time, the Panthers must see what they have in those with less experience to form a concise recruitment strategy before next spring.
There is no bigger problem than Bryce Young. The Panthers took him out of the firing line after just two games as his confidence dipped to unrecognizable levels. Andy Dalton has provided more stability, but those in power need to see if this project can be rescued at some stage. This bears more significance if the former No. 1 overall selection is still around after the trade deadline on November 5.
This is a contentious issue among the fanbase. Some think Young deserves another shot with the Panthers going nowhere fast. Others have seen enough of the unwatchable offense when he was under center. There's almost no middle ground whatsoever, but the only opinions that matter are those in prominent positions of power within the organization.
Beat writer believes Carolina Panthers could give Bryce Young seven games
Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer put forward a potential timeline for Young's reintroduction. The beat writer hinted that the final seven games could be when the Panthers turn to the Heisman Trophy winner once again if he's still around. If the losing run goes on, he also believes development will be the key objective if Canales gets assurances of his job status beyond the current campaign.
"If the [Carolina] Panthers don’t move [Bryce] Young at the deadline, they could turn to him down the stretch. That opportunity would give him seven games to prove himself to Carolina and/or other squads for the upcoming offseason. That really feels like the sweet spot if you’re going to make a switch back to Young. At that point, wins don’t really have meaning beyond pride. Development will be the focus, especially if [Dave] Canales is assured that he will be sticking around long term."
- Mike Kaye, the Charlotte Observer
This seems feasible, even though it has the scope to turn sections of the fanbase off entirely. It will either give the Panthers enough information to suggest Young is worthy of competing for the No. 1 spot in 2025, or it'll put him in the shop window for potential suitors to examine ahead of an offseason trade.
The Panthers invested a lot in Young. It was far more than those in power at the time initially anticipated, which stemmed from their woeful roster evaluation and completely misjudging this team's trajectory in Year 1 under Frank Reich. This was a torrid situation for the signal-caller, but his performances were nowhere near good enough despite the mitigating circumstances attached.
Canales has been saying all the right things about Young. His actions say something different. One must also wonder just how much trust remains on both sides after cutting this experiment short with the season still in its infancy.
Either way, the Panthers will be in the market for another quarterback in 2025.
Fans had one offseason from legitimate respite from examining college signal-callers, pending free agents, or potential trade targets. Now, depressingly normal service is about to resume.