'Disaster' NFL Team Under Fire From League Executives

Things have gone from bad to worse for the Carolina Panthers.

The team decided on September 16 to bench 23-year-old quarterback Bryce Young. Carolina made Young the No. 1 overall pick in the draft just a year ago.

Not only that, but the Panthers traded two first-round draft picks, a second-rounder and wideout D.J. Moore for the opportunity to move up the draft board for Young.

As one could anticipate, Carolina has received significant criticism for how the first 19 games of the Young era have unfolded. Even executives inside the league were ripping the Panthers after Week 2.

"One league executive called the Panthers’ situation a 'disaster,'" wrote The Athletic's Jeff Howe . "Another said the Panthers committed the cardinal sin of trading up in the draft for an “outlier” of a prospect, hoping everything would come together rather than finding ways to accentuate Young’s better qualities."

Howe argued the Panthers now have a "complicated situation" of their own making. The Young benching is likely to shatter his confidence, which isn't fair to the 23-year-old because the quarterback is hardly the only issue.

Carolina has failed to surround Young with pieces on offense that will help support his development. Part of why is because the organization gave up so much draft capital to land Young.

"It does, however, reinforce the opinion the Panthers shouldn’t have traded so much capital to move up for Young, who was an imperfect prospect," wrote Howe . "Young was mostly viewed as the best QB prospect, though some teams did indeed prefer Stroud and even Anthony Richardson.

"But that doesn’t mean Young was a sure thing. If you’re going to trade two first-round picks — one of which became the No. 1 overall pick ( Caleb Williams ) in 2024 — two second-round picks and a No. 1 receiver, you better know you’re getting a franchise quarterback."

In the first two games this season, Young posted a 55.4% completion percentage and averaged 7.9 yards per completion. Young really struggled as a rookie, but he recorded a 59.8% completion percentage and 9.1 yards per completion last season.

The Panthers will start Andy Dalton in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders.