Bryce Young’s Panthers career ends with Sunday’s start

Bryce Young will return to the Carolina Panthers’ starting lineup in Week 8, but not because the team wants him to. A sprained thumb suffered in a car accident has sidelined Andy Dalton, while Young makes his first start since his shocking bench move in Week 3.

However, this is not a triumphant return to active duty for Young. This is more likely to be his swansong for Carolina.

Young opened the season by going a combined 31 of 56 for 245 yards with 0 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. That earned him a passer rating of 44.1. In other words, he was as bad as possible in the games against the New Olreans Saints and the Los Angeles Chargers.

Now that we’re almost half a season behind us, we have an idea of ​​the competition he faced in these games. and it wasn’t good. The Chargers rank 14th in PFF’s defensive rating this year, while the Saints are far behind at 28th.

With that in mind, how does he have a chance against the Denver Broncos? Led by star corner Patrick Surtain II, Denver is PFF’s second-best defense, with the top grade in coverage and No. 7 in pass rush. The Broncos are holding opposing passers to a league-worst 4.6 net yards per pass attempt, while no one else in the NFL is forcing a mark below 5.0.

To make matters worse, Young won’t get any help. Diontae Johnson is not practicing and could miss the game with a rib injury. Adam Thielen is also limited. Xavier Legette, Jonathan Mingo and David Moore aren’t exactly the kind of trio that will save him.

Now I have to admit that no one expects Young to succeed here. The matchup is an absolute nightmare, and even a good quarterback could struggle here. But that’s not enough of an excuse either.

Dalton will be back soon, and that means our most recent memory of Young when he’s back on the bench will be the terrible performance he put on against Denver. Given this lingering taste, will Dave Canales really find it easier to reverse his strange banking decision?

Will the offseason come and the Panthers suddenly trust Young to turn things around?

Absolutely not. It’s much harder to convince your fan base to buy back a player who, for example, finishes with 0 touchdowns and 6 interceptions in a year than it is for someone who finishes with 0 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Assuming Dalton returns in Week 9, it’s safe to assume that this Sunday’s game will be the last time Young ever starts a game for the Panthers.

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