Insider expands on how benching helped Panthers' Bryce Young improve

The Carolina Panthers were largely noncompetitive over the season's first two weeks before first-year head coach Dave Canales benched Bryce Young in favor of veteran Andy Dalton.

Young has impressed with his play after he was called upon to replace a banged-up Dalton, and ESPN's Jeremy Fowler explained in a piece published Wednesday how sources revealed that learning from Dalton during the demotion "was crucial for the second-year quarterback's development" this fall. 

"We know he's throwing the ball with more confidence and operating the offense well," Fowler said about Young. "After asking around, he's also learning how to become more vocal and showing more command and urgency. The Panthers always knew Young could read defenses pre-snap well, and now he's doing a better job of projecting that out to teammates and coaches, 'getting it out of his brain and to others' in a clear and concise manner, according to one person with the team." 

Since re-entering the lineup for Carolina's Week 8 game at the Denver Broncos, Young has completed 60.4 percent of 169 pass attempts for 1,082 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions. He also added 82 rushing yards and a score on the ground as the Panthers won two of five contests to go from 1-6 to 3-9. 

David Newton of ESPN noted in a different article published on Wednesday that neither Canales nor current Panthers general manager Dan Morgan are necessarily married to Young on a long-term basis. Morgan was Carolina's assistant GM when the club made Young the first pick of the 2023 draft, while Canales was serving as offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the time. 

"For as much improvement as Young has shown, particularly in the past three games -- he has put up a 54.3 QBR compared to 9.7 in the first two weeks of the season before his benching -- they're still employing a wait-and-see approach," Newton said about how the Panthers are handling their quarterback situation. "There could be a scenario in which a bridge quarterback is brought in or Andy Dalton re-signs and competes with Young next season."

In short, it sounds like Young will have plenty to prove through Week 18, beginning with this Sunday's game at the 10-2 Philadelphia Eagles.