Panthers QB Bryce Young says he was surprised to learn he'd been benched, needs to get better

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young said he was surprised to learn from head coach Dave Canales that he'd been benched and accepted blame for the team's struggles on the field.

“It was not something that I was necessarily expecting,” Young said following Thursday's practice. “Obviously not something that was great to hear. But I respect coach Canales and the organization."

Young is 2-16 as an NFL starter since he arrived in Carolina amid high expectations after being selected No. 1 overall in the 2023 draft.

The Panthers are 0-2 this season and have not been competitive in either game. They have been outscored 73-13, including 53-3 in the first half, and have scored just one touchdown. Young has not thrown a TD pass in his last four starts dating back to last season.

The 36-year-old Andy Dalton will start on Sunday at Las Vegas.

Young placed the blame for the demotion on his own shoulders, saying he needs to be more productive.

“Last year and these first two games for the most part every snap has hit my hands and I didn't do enough with it at the end of the day,” Young said. “I take accountability for that. There are plays and a long list of things that I wish I was better at and I'm going to continue to work and grow and be better at them. I'm always going to look in the mirror."

He added, “If I went out there and played better, and we won games, we wouldn't be having this conversation.”

Young is the first quarterback selected No. 1 overall in the common draft era starting in 1967 to be benched for noninjury reasons in his second season.

But the QB said he has hasn't lost confidence in his own ability, even though the demotion raises questions about his future in Carolina.

Canales tried to cushion the blow on Wednesday, saying he still thinks Young can be a franchise quarterback and that the team has no plans to trade him.

As for whether he still views himself as the franchise quarterback in Carolina, Young sidestepped the question by saying “really right now, I am a day-by-day type of person. Big picture stuff, that's out of my hands. That's in God's hands. Organizational stuff, that is with the people upstairs” in the front office.

Young said he's been grateful for the support of his teammates and will continue to approach the game in the same way.

“I'm a competitor and it's not what you dream of or what you think is going to happen, but I trust in the Lord,” Young said. “I know that he is in control of everything and I am super blessed. It's not something that is ideal but at the end of day, it is what it is. I have to focus on what I can do now to get better.”

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