On Sunday, Dave Canales stood at the podium at Bank of America Stadium and answered back-to-back questions with the phrase, “Bryce is our quarterback.”
At lunchtime on Monday, Canales returned to the podium and said, “Andy Dalton is our quarterback right now. So, going into this week, I feel great about it.”
The 36-year-old Dalton has started 163 games in his 14-year NFL career, although just one in his two seasons with the Panthers, where he’s served as a backup for Bryce Young, the top pick in the 2023 draft.
The decision came after the Panthers lost their home opener to the Chargers by a 26-3 score. Carolina has scored just 13 points through two games. Going into the Monday night game, every other team with at least two games played had scored at least 24. The Panthers also had an incredible -60 scoring differential through two games. That’s 23 points worse than anyone else in the league.
While the defense has struggled, and there’s no one reason that can be blamed for the terrible start. Young, who struggled last year and has appeared to regress this season, is one of the key factors. Despite having a rebuilt, veteran offensive line and a coach known for his ability to rebuild the careers of troubled quarterbacks, Young has been worse in every key quarterback statistic, including completion percentage, yards per pass and completion, interception rate and passing success rate.
Against the Chargers, Young threw for just 84 yards. That’s 13 fewer than Sam Darnold, a flame-out as Panthers starter three years ago, had on one pass. Fourteen of Young’s 26 passes were targeted for running backs or tight ends. Those safe dumpoff decisions made more sense last year, when a porous line had Young running for his life.
Despite being sacked less often than last year, Young has yet to throw a touchdown pass. His passer rating is 44.1, down nearly 30 points from last year’s, and his ESPN Total Quarterback rating is a league-worst 8.9, down nearly 25 from last season, when he was second-worst.
Canales was short on specifics when discussing the 180-degree change in direction over less than a day.
“After yesterday, I just went home, watched the film, had some conversations with coaches (and front office staff),” Canales said. “I made the decision that this was the best decision for our group going forward.”
Five times in a 12-minute press conference, Canales said that the change was “the best decision” for the Panthers. He added another dozen times that he felt Dalton gave the team “the best chance” to win. He also said he didn’t want to get into specifics or that he wanted conversations to remain private seven times. That includes the time he was asked if notoriously volatile owner David Tepper was behind the decision to bench Young.
Canales also didn’t discuss the timeline of the change—whether this was a brief respite for Young to collect himself, watch and learn from the sideline, or whether the team had soured on the player it traded up to draft first overall just over a year ago.
However, Canales didn’t do much to bolster the confidence of his second-year quarterback.
“I owe it to all the guys to be really critical about what we see on film,” he said. “I stood in front of the team and challenged all the guys—we have to step up our passion for what we’re doing and play with the playing style we’re looking for.”
When asked about his expectations for Young going forward, he said, “I certainly hope he shows up every day, works hard, focuses on his job and continues to push himself.” He later reiterated that when asked again, saying, “The standard of NFL football is to show up, work hard, be focused, be engaged, do your job, give everything you have every day, pursuing your best and growing.”
There was nothing about hoping Young figures things out, realizes his potential or takes back over. That led to speculation that the team may be considering a trade. Several teams, most notably the Giants and Dolphins, may be in need of quarterback help. Plus, a trade of Young would have a relatively low impact on the Panthers’ salary cap position. Since he’s still on his rookie contract, a team trading for him would also not be pressed, salary-cap wise.
A trade after just two games with Young might seem to put a blemish on Canales’ reputation as a quarterback whisperer. It was thought that he took the head coaching job in large part for the opportunity to work with the Heisman-winning top pick in the draft.
“I took this job, because it’s a dream of mine,” he said. “It’s a dream to be able to lead men and make decisions to give us the best chance to win.”
He just made his first one.
