Bryce Young remains professionally defiant after Carolina Panthers benching

It's been a difficult week for Bryce Young. The quarterback had another poor performance in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers. That was enough for Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales to bench the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft just two fixtures into their supposedly blossoming relationship.

This is a steep fall from grace for the signal-caller. Young was the consensus top prospect among scouts and NFL executives before the draft. Unfortunately for the Heisman Trophy winner, he landed in the worst possible environment and suffered accordingly.

Whether a higher power forced Canales' hand is moot. Young's performances weren't good enough. More importantly, he was losing self-confidence and belief from those in the locker room. That's a dangerous combination and left the Panthers with no option other than to take him out of the firing line.

Young's been demoted to running the scout team this week as Andy Dalton takes the prominent reps before Week 3 at the Las Vegas Raiders. Speculation continues to mount about the player's long-term future, with many in the national media suggesting the Alabama product would be better off elsewhere.

Bryce Young remains defiant after shock Carolina Panthers' benching

That's a valid argument, especially considering the trust has evaporated from both sides. This isn't concerning Young too much. He's focusing on what he can control and staying professionally defiant in difficult circumstances.

"Really, right now I'm a day-by-day type of person. I've talked about that kind of consistently. Big picture stuff that's, that's out of my hands. That's in God's hands. Organizational stuff that's with, with the people upstairs. I'm super grateful to be a part of the team, be a part of the organization. I want to help the team whatever way I can and that's my focus. It's not something that I was necessarily expecting. It's obviously not something that was great to hear, but I respect coach, our organization. Obviously they made the decision and it's on me to put them in that situation. Right now that's the situation that it is."

- Bryce Young via Panthers.com

This is the correct attitude to have. Young needs to roll up his sleeves, use this setback as a source of motivation and be ready for another opportunity when it comes. That might not be in Carolina unless Dalton completely fluffs his lines. But there should be a few other teams who'll see him as an intriguing reclamation project in a more prosperous environment.

It's a sad situation nobody saw coming to this extent. Some fans wanted C.J. Stroud or Anthony Richardson, which is fine. However, not even Young's harshest skeptics would have expected the Panthers to cut the cord on his starting spot so early into Canales' tenure.

Football is all about relationships. Canales remains adamant he's running a developmental operation. Benching Young doesn't change that. What the move did do was prevent a locker room mutiny with confidence-sapping from the signal-caller and his teammates. Once that happens, there's no going back.

Young needs to take a breath, take stock of his situation and strive with everything to make the adjustments needed. He was picked No. 1 overall for a reason. It's time someone reminded him of that exact fact.

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