Perhaps only Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales knows the method behind his madness of not committing to Bryce Young as the team’s starting quarterback. But one writer might have a beat on it.
Joe Person of The Athletic opined on Wednesday that veteran Andy Dalton, even despite Young’s recent string of success, will “get another crack” under center at some point this season.
He writes:
This was among my predictions for the second half of the season. The Panthers are about to enter a murderer’s row schedule stretch against Kansas City, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia. If Young stumbles in one or more of those, don’t be surprised to see the Red Rifle behind center again, even though the more prudent play would be to stick with Young to see if he can be the guy going forward.
Dalton took over in Week 3, where he’d throw for 319 yards and three touchdowns in a 36-22 win against the Las Vegas Raiders. But the quality of play would digress over the next four outings, as the 14th-year quarterback averaged 167.5 passing yards per game with four scores and six picks in four straight losses.
A minor car accident at the beginning of Week 8 would result in a right thumb injury for Dalton, giving way for Young’s return to the lineup. Since then, the Panthers have gone 2-1 while Young has passed for 521 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions.
Nonetheless, Canales did not commit to Young following this past Sunday’s 20-17 victory over the New York Giants.
“Yeah, we’ll take all the information in and we’ll let you guys know,” he replied on Monday when asked if he’s ready to name a starting quarterback for Week 12. “Fortunately for us, we have some time to think this whole thing through.”
The Panthers will come out of this week’s bye to face the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Nov. 24.
