Panthers teammates share how Bryce Young handled benching

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young reportedly was quite angry upon learning that he'd been benched in favor of veteran Andy Dalton. Young then watched as Dalton completed 26-of-37 passes for 319 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in Carolina's 36-22 win over the Las Vegas Raiders this past Sunday.

Coming off that victory, teammates such as center Austin Corbett praised Young for how the second-year pro has dealt with what has to be a difficult situation.

"This is not the moment that you expect," Corbett said about the first pick of the 2023 NFL Draft being benched after just two starts this season, per David Newton of ESPN. "But he's been amazing this entire week, still being locked in the protection meetings and all the other meetings and in practice, then leading the team there on this sideline, still coming over, talking to us just as he was just seeing stuff...still acting and treating it as normal."

It is, of course, worth noting that Young doesn't have a plethora of career options this fall. Panthers head coach Dave Canales insisted last week that Carolina trading Young anytime soon was "not something we’re really considering." Multiple reporters have suggested that Young has made his final start as a member of the Panthers , but ESPN's Adam Schefter said over the weekend that "the most likely time" for a trade is "some point in the offseason."

Meanwhile, the Panthers have no starting quarterback controversy. Dalton is comfortably atop the depth chart as 1-2 Carolina prepares to host the 0-3 Cincinnati Bengals this coming Sunday , meaning Young is on track to spend another weekend serving as a hype man for teammates such as tight end Tommy Tremble during a game.

"He was always upbeat, always giving guys props on the sideline, being like, 'Let's go,' being positive, being a great leader on the sideline," Tremble said about how Young acted during the victory over the Raiders. "For us to see that throughout the entire game...we love him for that, man."

It was reported that the "mood around the (Carolina) locker room" after Week 2 factored into Canales' decision to sit Young. Tremble may "love" how Young has handled himself as a QB2 over the past week , but one wonders how teammates would respond if the 23-year-old was forced back into action due to Dalton becoming unavailable for any reason.

As of Tuesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Carolina as a 4.5-point underdog against Cincinnati.