Panthers bench No. 1 pick QB Bryce Young will let Andy Dalton start in Week 3: Source

By Joe Person, Lukas Weese and Larry Holder

The Carolina Panthers are benching 2023 No. 1 pick Bryce Young for their Week 3 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, a league source confirmed Monday. Andy Dalton will be the Panthers' new starting quarterback, the league source said.

Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network was first to report the news.

The move came after the Panthers' second straight season-opening loss, losing 26-3 to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. Against the Chargers, Young completed 18 of 26 passes in the 26-3 loss, but those passes went for just 84 yards, the fourth-lowest passing total in franchise history for a quarterback with at least 25 passing attempts.

After the game, Panthers coach Dave Canales championed Young when asked if he would start next week in Las Vegas.

“Bryce is our quarterback,” Canales said. “We're just going to continue to work on reinforcements and improving the things that we need to improve fundamentally from a game perspective. Those are all valuable reps. Those are all valuable plays. We'll learn a lot from this game and hopefully take another step this week.”

For Young, Week 3 will not be the Panthers' QB1. The Panthers will go with the experienced Dalton, who is in his 14th NFL season and is a three-time Pro Bowler.

The Panthers have scored a total of 13 points in two games. Carolina will be looking to avoid starting 0-3 for the second consecutive game against the Raiders next Sunday.

Why now?

As Young struggled through his rookie season and finished as the NFL's lowest-rated passer, the Panthers invested much of their free agent budget and offseason energies into improving the offensive line and giving Young more playmaking. Despite better coverage, Young has regressed through the first two games, with no touchdowns, three interceptions and 245 total passing yards.

Canales risked losing the locker room and the fan base if he held on to Young. In Sunday's loss to the Chargers, fans booed Young, some wore bags over their heads and others chanted encouraging pleas to owner David Tepper to sell the team. — Joe Person, Panthers sports reporter

What does Dalton bring?

First, an experienced player who should make things a little easier for Canales and the first-year offensive team. The 36-year-old Dalton started for the Panthers in Week 3 last year in Seattle when Young missed one game with an ankle injury.

Dalton threw for 361 yards (34 of 58), the highest passing yardage for the Panthers in 2023. At least Dalton's appearance gives Young a chance to catch his breath, watch how an experienced quarterback performs in Canales' scheme and perhaps regain his confidence. — person

Numbers behind Dalton's move to QB1

You might have thought Young had already hit rock bottom after Week 1, but his performance in Week 2 was even worse. Young posted his worst EPA per dropback rate of his career in the loss to the Chargers at -0.69, according to TruMedia. This season, Young ranks last in the league in EPA per dropback rate at -0.44 and passer rating at 44.1.

It's getting worse.

Young ranks last in overall QB EPA at -143.1 and in EPA per dropback at -0.24 among quarterbacks in their first 18 starts since 2000 (99 qualified quarterbacks).

At least Dalton gives the Panthers a chance on offense. He was most recently a starter for the Saints in 2022 and posted a respectable 0.02 EPA per dropback and a 95.2 passer rating. But the Saints only finished 6-8 with Dalton as quarterback 1. — Larry Holder, NFL senior editor

Required reading

(Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)