Bryce Young to make first start since benching in Carolina’s Week 8 game
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Bryce Young is getting the start on Sunday.
Young was benched by the Carolina Panthers last month after he struggled in the first two games of 2024, his second professional season. The Panthers turned to veteran Andy Dalton in place of Young.
Dalton is dealing with a sprained thumb following a recent car accident, so the Panthers are turning to Young for Sunday’s game against Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos.
Bryce Young will start. Andy Dalton sprained thumb in car wreck. #Panthers pic.twitter.com/kuu5gkGYlO
— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) October 23, 2024
In 2 starts this season, Young was 31-of-56 passing for 245 yards and 3 interceptions without a touchdown pass. The Panthers lost those games to the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Chargers by a combined score of 73-13.
Since being benched for Dalton, Young has seen limited playing time. On Oct. 6, Young was 4-of-7 for 58 yards in a 36-10 loss at Chicago. Two weeks later, Young was 2-of-2, but finished with negative passing yards in a 40-7 loss to the Washington Commanders.
Outside of Carolina, there’s likely to be some interest in how Young looks as the starting QB post-benching. According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, Young’s benching created significant trade interest in the former No. 1 pick.
“I am keeping an eye on Bryce Young,” Russini recently said on the Scoop City podcast. “I know teams called the Panthers when they benched him to see if they would possibly be open to trading. I think there are a lot of coaches and GMs licking their chops, going, ‘Hmm, maybe we can do something with him.’ The Panthers weren’t the only team that had Bryce Young as No. 1 in terms of talent.”
The Panthers and Broncos are set for 4:25 p.m. ET Sunday from Denver.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
