After Sunday’s loss to the Chargers, head coach Dave Canales was asked if he might bench quarterback Bryce Young and play Andy Dalton and replied, “Bryce is our quarterback.”
Canales has apparently changed his mind.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, the Panthers are benching Young to start Dalton — beginning with this week’s matchup against the Raiders.
Young, the No. 1 pick of the 2023 draft, has looked overmatched in his first two starts of the season. He has completed just 55.4 percent of his throws for 245 yards with three interceptions. His passer rating is 44.1 and he’s averaging just 4.4 yards per attempt.
Last season, Young finished 2-14 as a starter, having completed 59.8 percent of his throws for 2,877 yards with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Coincidentally, Young did not play in last year’s Week 3 game either, as Dalton made his only start of 2023 against the Seahawks.
Dalton, 36, completed 58.6 percent of his throws for 361 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in three appearances for the Panthers last year. Back in 2022, Dalton finished with a 66.7 percent completion rate, throwing for 2,871 yards with 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions for the Saints.
A longtime starter for the Bengals, Dalton has amassed an 83-78-2 record.
