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Some teams in sports are just consistently their own worst enemies. For whatever reason, they always zig when they should zag. They always find ways to make the wrong decisions at the worst times, and the results are what they are.
The most recent example is the Carolina Panthers, who now find themselves in a very tough spot of largely their own creation. The only ones they have to blame are themselves.
Off to an 0-2 start with some rather ugly performances, the Panthers decided to bench young quarterback Bryce Young in favor of his veteran backup, Andy Dalton. With the veteran under center, the Panthers went into Las Vegas and beat the Raiders in Week 3.
At face value, the results would appear to show that the Panthers are better off sticking with Dalton. But, it’s deeper than that. There are layers to this story.
The Panthers gave up a lot in a trade with the Chicago Bears to move up in the 2023 NFL Draft for the right to draft Bryce Young. To acquire the first overall pick, the Panthers traded wide receiver D.J. Moore, two first round picks, and two second round picks. It’s not quite the Herschel Walker trade, but that is a lot of value that Carolina gave up. It doesn’t stop there.
The Panthers have traded away some major talent in the last few years. In addition to trading Moore to Chicago, the Panthers also sent Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers and linebacker Brian Burns to the New York Giants. They started to sell off valuable pieces in bit of a fire-sale at the same time they were sending a large package to get to the top of the 2023 draft.
Because the roster was so devoid of talent in 2023, Young struggled out of the gate and then head coach Frank Reich was fired. Carolina finished the season with a 2-15 record, the worst record in the league. Carolina would have had the first overall pick in the 2024 draft, but that was now Chicago’s property. Chicago used that selection on quarterback Caleb Williams.
To make matters worse, the Houston Texans chose second overall in 2023, right after Carolina, and drafted quarterback C.J. Stroud, who led them to an AFC South championship and a playoff run as a rookie.
Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. It’s actually remarkable just how wrong things have gone.
Now, what little confidence Young had left has been completely shattered. His value is at an all-time low. The vultures around the league have reached out to Carolina with trade offers, presumably in efforts to acquire a player with potential on the cheap.
Head coach Dave Canales said that they intend to go back to Young later in the season, but that’s going to be hard to sell a locker room on now that they’ve actually tasted victory.
It was never about this season in Carolina. It wasn’t even about next season. This team is in the midst of a multi-year rebuild. Patience is a virtue, but it seems patience has run out.
Carolina zigged when they should have zagged, again and again. They traded a ton of value to move up for the player, and have done nothing at all to maximize his talents and develop his potential.
For Bryce Young’s sake, the team really should do right by him and trade him somewhere else.
Brian Attard is a lifelong resident of Hammonton, avid sports fan and host on The Sports Box Network (@SportsBoxSports on all social media platforms).
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