By Chris Lea, WRAL-TV sports anchor/reporter

Charlotte, N.C. — Bryce Young is broken.

The guy who was a Heisman Trophy winner and a national champion at Alabama, with all the swagger, confidence and processing prowess couldn’t lace Kyle Allen’s cleats in a Carolina Panthers uniform right now.

Last season he had all the excuses in the world, which were good excuses. He was a rookie. He had one of the worst offensive lines in football. His receivers didn’t get open. His coaching staff was at odds with each other, which made the overall scheme questionable.

All of that was addressed in the off season, no need to rehash, but there aren’t many excuses left.

Young finished 18-26 passing, with only 84 yards and an interception in Sunday’s 26-3 loss to the LA Chargers. He averaged 2.5 yards per passing attempt.

That means either Young has absolutely no confidence or that the Panthers coaching staff has no confidence in Young.

Or both.

It’s not all on Bryce Young, however. Rookie head coach Dave Canales needs a long hard look in the mirror himself. The Panthers didn’t look prepared to play last week versus the Saints and looked the same today in their home debut against the Chargers.

The Panthers being outscored 73-13 in the first two games of the season isn’t a quarterback stat. When team’s are not competitive at all, that all falls on the coaching staff, specifically the head coach. And two games into Canales’ head coaching career, he’s led a team out on the field that wasn’t ready to play, or compete.

So what’s the solution?

That’s the million dollar question.

There are issues with the Carolina Panthers that won’t get solved in just a couple of games. Some are saying it’s time for veteran quarterback Andy Dalton to take a spin and to sit Young down. Hindsight is 20/20, but the Panthers probably should’ve started Dalton to begin with and bring Young along slowly. But since that’s not the case, the Panthers can’t afford to sit Young in favor of Dalton right now. It certainly should be considered, but not right now.

Here’s why.

At the risk of being called a ‘Bryce Young apologist’, I’ll reference something I said earlier: last season Young had all the excuses in the world. Valid excuses. Things the Panthers deliberately addressed in the off season. Addressing those issues doesn’t mean a young quarterback who was surrounded by mediocrity in 2023 will start balling out immediately in 2024.

Again, Young has no confidence. The way to get him that confidence is to put confidence in him by playing, for now. If the Panthers were to sit him down, you’re essentially doing what the New York Jets did to Zach Wilson: You’re telling Young it’s over and we are moving on from you completely after this season.

So long, sayonara.

It’s way too early to make that decision, although, if Young continues to play this bad, that decision must come. That locker room and the Panthers fan base can not continue to be the laughing stock of the NFL the way the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions or even the old school creamsicle Tampa Bay Buccaneers were.

That decision shouldn’t be based on wins, it should be based on improvement and if the Panthers can become competitive in games. Two games in, however, it’s getting worse. Every offensive statline this week was worse than last week’s game at the Saints besides rushing yards and yards per carry. The leash is short, but there’s a leash. Give players time and resources to develop, and technically, Young has only had two games of an NFL standard offensive line and wide receivers.

Since he is a former college football national champion and a Heisman Trophy winner, the Panthers owe it to themselves to kick the tires a little longer on a player they’ve invested so much in.

But, Bryce, the clock is ticking.

Source: wralsportsfan.com