Why Did Dave Canales Bench Bryce Young? Insider Drops Two Potential Reasons Behind Panther HC’s Decision

As Carolina Panthers’ Head Coach Dave Canales decided to bench the team’s young QB Bryce Young after a weak start in the first two games of the 2024 season, everyone had the same question in mind–what went wrong?

Taking to the Rich Eisen Show, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer gave his take on what could have led Canales to make this decision.

Breer feels retaining Young on the roster would’ve done more harm than good for the team. According to him, the kind of pressures young starting QBs face is quite immense. Thus, according to Breer, it would be wise to give Young some time to work on his skills and confidence. 

Per Breer, Young is also not a strong sell to the team, due to his underdeveloped leadership skills and lack of confidence. He stated:

“You have to be able to sell the quarterback to the roster. Can they sell Bryce Young being the best option for your team?”

Before detailing the two main reasons behind benching Young, Breer also cleared the air about the role of team owner, David Tepper in this decision.

Young’s benching was driven by poor field performance

As per the Sports Illustrated reporter, Young’s poor performance was the only reason behind sidelining him rather than any direct orders from the Panthers owner, David Tepper.

While talking about Tepper’s role, Albert Breer said, “I don’t think he pushed the button on this one.”

He made it clear how the coaching staff, particularly, head coach Dave Canales made the hard decision to let go of the quarterback, who was picked No. 1 overall last year.

Speaking of which, while it is true that Tepper did not have any direct role, he is at the same time aware of the developments in the team– just like any other workplace functions.