Bryce Young shoulders accountability for being benched by Carolina Panthers

Bryce Young received the news this week that no young quarterback in the NFL wants to hear. Reports began to break on Monday, and it has since been confirmed that the Carolina Panthers are benching the former No. 1 overall pick in favor of veteran Andy Dalton.

There’s no denying Carolina has struggled to score points and win games with Young under center, but it’s also hard to believe the QB is the entire problem for the Panthers. However, Young was not in the business of pointing fingers when he met with the media on Thursday.

At one point, Young was asked if he had been given enough time by the franchise to prove what he can do, but the former Alabama star said that is not a question for him to answer. He said pretty much every snap he’s had “hit my hands,” and it was up to him to do something positive with it.

“For the most part, every snap hit my hands, and I didn’t do enough with it, at the end of the day,” Young said. “I take accountability for that. There’s plays, there’s stuff, there’s a long list of things that I wish I was better at… I’m always going to look in the mirror.

“Circumstances are what they are — not just for me — but for everyone… If I went out there and played better and we won games, we wouldn’t be having these conversations.”

I asked Bryce Young if he thought he was given enough time by the #Panthers:

"Every snap hit my hands, and I didn't do enough with it …I'm always going to look in the mirror…if I went out there and played better and we won games we wouldn't be having this conversation." pic.twitter.com/3jjdcNAqSD

— Nick Carboni (@NickCarboniWCNC) September 19, 2024

Another question involved Young’s confidence level, but the former Heisman winner says his confidence in himself has not changed with these early struggles. That’s simply part of being a competitor.

“I have confidence in myself, always have confidence in myself. It’s a day-to-day thing. At the end of the day, I’m a competitor,” described Young. “Whenever there’s a football and there’s a field out there, I have the utmost confidence in myself. It’s been great with these guys too, having teammates that I can lean on as well.

“That’s not something that’s gonna waiver. What the circumstances are, what happens, that’s up for God to decide and it’s outta my hands. But you know that feeling isn’t gonna change.”

Bryce Young on the level of his confidence: “I have confidence in myself, always had confidence in myself. At the end of the day, I'm a competitor. Whenever there's a football and there's a field out there I have the utmost confidence in myself. It's been great with these guys… pic.twitter.com/Fzk2QxCGhW

— Ashley Stroehlein (@ashstro) September 19, 2024

While Young’s struggles have been highlighted in Carolina’s 2023 struggles and the 0-2 start to the season, the defense has given up 73 points in 2 games this year. We’ll see how Dalton fares and whether or not Young gets another crack at QB1 some time this season.

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.