The Carolina Panthers (0-2) are heading in a new direction under first-year head coach Dave Canales, benching Bryce Young in favor of veteran quarterback Andy Dalton for this Sunday’s Week 3 road contest against the Las Vegas Raiders (1-1).

Young, the 2023 No. 1 overall pick, struggled mightily in his rookie campaign. Those struggles have carried over to 2024. In the Panthers’ two losses to open the season, he completed 31-of-56 passes for 245 yards with zero touchdowns and three interceptions. Young is 2-16 as the Panthers’ starting quarterback.

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With Young relegated to the bench, it begs the question of how the Panthers will handle him from here on out. Will Young play backup to Dalton or will Carolina look to cut bait and give the former Alabama star a fresh start?

Spotrac took a look at what penalty the Panthers would incur by moving on from Young. The 23-year-old has $10.93 million (all fully guaranteed) remaining on his rookie deal, which runs through the 2026 season. If Carolina trades Young, they will be subject to $12.4 million in dead cap money. Releasing Young will result in $22.4 million in dead cap.

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Dave Canales explains decision to bench Bryce Young

Dating back to Week 17 last season, the Panthers have thrown for zero touchdowns and less than 150 yards in four consecutive games. The 2009 Oakland Raiders were the last team to do that, per David Newton of ESPN. Dalton started one game for Carolina last season, throwing for 361 yards and two touchdowns.

Canales, brought in to get the best out of Young following his success working with Geno Smith in Seattle and Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay, made the decision to go with Dalton believing the 36-year-old gives the Panthers the best chance to win football games — something Carolina has struggled to do over the last few years.

“A lot of factors that go into it for this decision. And, ultimately, just kind of landed on my shoulder to be able to make the best decision for our group to give us our best chance to win this week,” Canales said. “And we focus on the weeks, we focus on the challenge at hand. We feel like Andy gives us our best chance to meet the challenge.

“This was my decision. This is our football team. This is trying to win on a weekly basis. And while it’s my decision, I gather information from the people that are critical to making these kinds of decisions. But this is something I felt like gives us our chance to take a step forward in our play style. And to be able to compete this week against a really good Raiders team.”

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