Coming off a 2-15 record in his debut season and then getting badly beaten in the first two games of the next campaign can tear any young QB into pieces. That was the case with Bryce Young when he was benched in only the first month of his sophomore year in the NFL.
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Being a QB of a developing team is never easy, and losing always hurts, especially after all you have done is win in college and high school. Hence, the Panthers had to give the youngster the necessary headspace before entrusting the weight of the franchise on the 23-year-old’s shoulders.
Looking back at it, Panthers GM Dan Morgan feels proud of how they handled the situation and did not allow their young leader to have a mental breakdown.
He lauded head coach Dave Canales for taking the big step to bench Bryce, even though they were aware that it would look messy. However, Rich Eisen felt it was more of a “sabbatical” for the Heisman winner.
“It was a hard decision to bench Bryce after the second game of the year,” Morgan said. “And for him (Coach Canales) to do that, and being a first-time head coach, not a lot of guys would do that in that type of situation… and it’s what was best for the organization.”
Morgan then proceeded to say how Bryce accepted the situation like a true leader. He went along with the plan as he sat for the next five weeks until Dalton sustained a thumb injury due to a car accident.
“It gave him (Bryce) a chance to sit back, watch Andy Dalton out there in the huddle, run the huddle. And just take a step back, and just take a deep breath, relax a little bit, and just kind of gather his thoughts because we knew he was going to come back at some point and we knew he was going to play good.”
Upon returning in Week 8, Bryce won two out of his next three games, followed by a close encounter with the defending champions Chiefs, which reinstated him as the starter once again. Bryce finished off the season 4-6 following Week 7, and Dan couldn’t be more proud of his decision.
“I knew that this wasn’t going to keep him down for long… So to see him come back and end the season the way he did, it was awesome to see. And it was actually really just a proud moment for myself, and just the organization to know that we have our franchise quarterback.”
Young has been an exceptional player from the start, irrespective of the team’s results. After all, one doesn’t go No. 1 overall at the draft without a reason. But coming back stronger showed that he was also ready to face all the adversity in the league, as it couldn’t have gotten any worse.
