Mailbag: Will Bryce Young get Panthers QB job back after Andy Dalton’s huge outing?
The Carolina Panthers are finally in the win column.
Following Sunday’s blowout victory against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Carolina faithful are curious about their favorite football franchise. So, The Charlotte Observer has fielded questions from the weekly mailbag to answer some of the fan’s inquiries.
Here are some standout questions from social media:
Bryce Young trade interest
Jon asks: What are the actual chances someone wants to trade for Bryce Young?
To my understanding, there has been some level of trade interest in the days since Young was benched last week. That said, I’m not sure the interest went beyond, “Hey, is he available? And for what?”
The quarterback position is the most coveted in sports. And there are typically evaluators and coaches around the NFL who have the bravado (arrogance?) to believe they can turn around a failed prospect. It happens occasionally (Geno Smith, Sam Darnold, the second season of the American version of “The Office”), so why not try it with a buy-low option at the most important spot on the roster?
Also, when former first-round picks like Kenny Pickett, Mac Jones and Justin Fields — who were actually more successful in their starter runs than Young — are getting swapped for the equivalent of late-Day 3 draft picks, the market dictates that opposing teams should look to take advantage of Carolina’s situation.
But the Panthers, as of now, want to keep last year’s first overall pick. Head coach Dave Canales has said that publicly, and that’s the impression I’ve received in polling folks around the league.
That outlook could obviously change in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline on Nov. 5. But really, the Panthers don’t need to rush with Young’s value at an all-time low. While Andy Dalton showed he was an enhancement over Young in Week 3, that doesn’t mean that his performance will be sustained over the next few weeks. After all, Dalton has been a journeyman backup over the past five years for a reason.
So, the Panthers’ next logical step is to let things play out. While the national talking heads want to feign potential intrigue in a Young trade, Canales, GM Dan Morgan and the front office have no reason to pull the trigger until they are absolutely sure Young is a lost cause for them.
Perhaps the brain trust sees improvement from Young behind the scenes, Dalton eventually falters, and Young gets back in the saddle. With all the Panthers have invested in Young, it doesn’t hurt to take a step back and evaluate behind the scenes. If things don’t progress, there’s always the trade deadline.
Will Young be QB1 again?
Kira asks: Assuming Andy Dalton doesn’t get hurt, what would be the earliest you feel that we see Bryce start a game for Carolina, if ever again?
If Dalton continues at his Las Vegas pace, it’ll be hard to bench him any time soon. Still, there’s a more than fair shot of regression over the next few weeks, depending on opponent.
Opposing defenses won’t be taking things easy on Dalton after he lit up the Raiders to the tune of 319 passing yards and three passing touchdowns — the strongest output by a starting QB this season in the NFL.
The Panthers have a relatively favorable scheduled before the Week 11 bye. They play the Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons, Washington Commanders, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints and New York Giants (in Germany) before the week of rest. Of those teams, the Saints are the only ones who should scare you, even after the Philadelphia Eagles apparently found the blueprint for keeping the New Orleans offense in check.
Simply guessing, the Panthers would probably want to hold Young on the sideline through the New Orleans rematch. Young was a disaster against Dennis Allen’s defense, and it’s hard to see him turning things around — even at home — against the familiar foes.
Still, if Dalton keeps the Panthers competitive, it’s not going to be easy to turn away from him. We’ll just need to see how this all plays out.
Watch and learn
Cam asks: Do you think watching the offense successfully operate helps Bryce Young in the long run?
There is some merit to taking mental reps when watching a product that flows. Young got to see Canales’ offense at its potential zenith with Dalton under center. Nearly everything worked, from play-calling to blocking to yards-after-catch opportunities to all-around execution.
He also got to see the defense function when the offense actually put up points — instead of putting the neighboring unit in a bind.
If Young can see how the product around him can flow when the QB does his job, maybe it’ll improve his confidence in his functionality. Young is a QB, so he’s weighted (outside of the scales) more than his teammates in the public eye. That’s the pressure of the position. But if he can take a step back, process the flow of the offense, and understand he’s not alone, maybe that can trigger some development and confidence in his ability to play within the system. That’s the internal hope at least.
Flowers for the GM?
Chris asks: Every time I watched (presumably against the Raiders), the pocket was clean. Can we give some flowers to Dan Morgan and this staff on their reworked OL? Also, thoughts the secondary? Another big play given up.
The interior blocking group, in particular, has been tremendous through three weeks. Morgan made some big gambles by giving left guard Damien Lewis (four years, $53 million) and right guard Robert Hunt (five years, $100 million) huge contracts in the offseason. There’s also a valid argument to be made that moving Austin Corbett to center was a big leap of faith. So far, all three have worked out quite well.
Morgan deserves credit for his conviction in assembling the interior offensive line trio. Bringing in two outside guards is always a gamble because their previous work is typically impacted by the tackles and centers around them during their previous stops. Morgan and his front office have seemingly nailed the evaluations on Lewis and Hunt. Lewis having experience with the coaching staff also helped.
While Ikem Ekwonu gets a ton of flak for his pass protection woes, he’s largely been fine so far this season. Taylor Moton has been his normal consistent self.
Regarding the secondary, big plays are going to happen. That 54-yard shot play to wideout Tre Tucker was a clear coverage bust, and those happen. Good secondaries mitigate those malfunctions, but the performance against the Raiders was largely an optimal outcome. The Panthers took away Gardner Minshew’s ability to rely on his big tight ends (combined four catches for 48 yards on seven targets) and All-Pro wideout Davante Adams (four catches for 40 yards on nine targets) was largely held in check by cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson. The performance was actually quite encouraging overall by the pass defense.
Circling back to Morgan, it’s worth noting that he acquired Jackson for rookie LB Michael Barrett, a seventh-round pick who had no shot at making the Panthers’ roster. Jackson has been more than serviceable on defense over three weeks, and the GM landed him in a trade for a guy who is currently on a practice squad.
Injured reinforcements
J. Dub asks: When will we start hearing about the timelines of players who are eligible to return from PUP after next week like Dane Jackson, DJ Wonnum, Jonathon Brooks, etc.?
Well, all four of those guys — as well as Sam Franklin, Amare Barno and Ian Thomas — are eligible to return from their respective injury lists after Week 4. However, those players all have their own respective return timelines.
Barno, in particular, has a lack of clarity on his knee injury following ACL surgery.
Also, remember, once the injured players are activated, there is a 21-day window for them to prepare for a return. So, just because a player is activated, it does not mean they are going to return immediately.
In the cases of Brooks and Wonnum — who haven’t had football contact since last winter — it may take some time to get them comfortable with football speed in practice. Having said that, everything is speculation — even from the Panthers — until the training and coaching staffs see the individual players work in practice.
In a season of no public expectations, there’s also no need to rush players back. The Panthers drafted Brooks for the future, and Chuba Hubbard is having an excellent start to the season, so it’s smart to be cautious. Mike Jackson is performing relatively well at cornerback, so rushing Dane Jackson (hamstring) might not be necessary.
Wonnum is really the big one to watch, as the outside linebacker group has left a lot to be desired in the first three weeks. If he can get back soon, the Panthers can feel better about their pass rush.
Wonnum wasn’t initially expected to miss the first four weeks of the campaign. But injuries aren’t always predictable, and that’s another reason why rushing a player onto the field without a rev up period could be problematic.
