NFL Rumors: Bryce Young 'Wondered' If He Had Future with Panthers After Benching

Second-year quarterback Bryce Young reportedly had some doubts about his future with the Carolina Panthers after he got benched earlier this season.

According to ESPN's David Newton, multiple sources said there were times during the 2024 campaign that Young "wondered if he had a future with Carolina."

Head coach Dave Canales benched Young in favor of veteran Andy Dalton after an 0-2 start to the season, but he returned to the starting lineup in Week 8 and has played the best football of his young career since then.

After Dalton led the Panthers to a Week 3 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, Canales said he was the team's starting quarterback and gave them the "best chance to win," which called Young's status into question.

Per Newton, there was "no indication" at the time that Young would get another opportunity, and speculation was mounting that the organization would perhaps look to move on from Young during the offseason.

However, everything changed in late October when Dalton got into a car accident, causing him to miss the team's Week 8 game against the Denver Broncos.

Although Carolina fell 28-14 to Denver on the road, Young showed some signs of life, throwing for 224 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions against one of the league's top defenses.

Young led the Panthers to back-to-back wins after that, and even when Dalton was healthy enough to return, Canales stuck with the 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick under center.

Overall this season, Young has completed 59.7 percent of his passes for 2,152 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions, while also rushing for 225 yards and four scores.

Those numbers may not seem overly impressive on the surface, but his improvement during the second half of the season has been obvious.

Young threw for 263 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in a three-point loss to the one-loss Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12 and followed that up with 298 yards, one touchdown, no picks and a rushing touchdown in a three-point loss to the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers the next week.

Over his past two games, Young has thrown a total of four touchdown passes and no interception, along with rushing for a score.

Given how much the Panthers invested to trade up to the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft in order to select Young and the fact that he is still just 23 years of age, he has likely done enough to buy himself at least one more season as the starter.

There is still no guarantee that Young will live up to his draft position, but there is now at least some hope that he will reach his potential, which wasn't the case just a couple of months ago.