Bryce Young’s return gives Panthers all the more reason to trade him

The Carolina Panthers scaled the mountain to battle the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon, the sort of matchup that gets football sickos out of bed in the morning. Neither Bryce Young nor Bo Nix are very convincing as recent first-round quarterbacks, but the opportunity to see which middling arm comes out on top is hard to pass up.

Young has been riding the bench of late as 36-year-old Andy Dalton stacks L's, but at a certain point, the Panthers were always going to transition back to the sophomore No. 1 overall pick. Dalton injured his thumb in a car accident this week, thrusting Young back into action in what could be a permanent change.

Head coach Dave Canales was brought in to solve Carolina's myriad offensive woes, which he has decidedly not accomplished. That said, we can hardly blame the coach for the persistent incompetence of the front office and ownership. The Panthers' issues have been trickling down from the very top for a while now. If anything, we should criticize David Tepper for continuing to hire the wrong coaches, the wrong GMs, the wrong quarterbacks.

For now, the Panthers are pretty much stuck with Young trying in vain to elevate Canales' offense to respectability. Odds are it won't happen, but there is only one other viable alternative — a trade.

Young was the No. 1 pick for a reason, and teams are bound to take interest if the Panthers put the 23-year-old on the trade block. Carolina won't be able to return nearly as much value as it gave up to acquire Young in the first place, but the Panthers' front office can't fall victim to a sunk cost here. Young is not the future of Panthers football — it's plain as day — so trading him while there's still some mystery to his underperformance is the way to go.

In that sense, Young tossed Carolina's lead decision-makers a bone on Sunday.

Bryce Young gets off to quick start against Broncos as trade deadline approaches

Young scored a touchdown on the Panthers' opening drive in Denver, completing all five pass attempts for 39 yards while expertly pulling the strings against a stout Broncos defense. The rest of the first half skewed in Denver's direction, but Young looked at least confident and efficient in his first action since that high-profile benching several weeks ago.

It couldn't have come at a better time. The more promise Young flashes in a dire Panthers offense, the more other teams will convince themselves that he's worth a shot. From rebuilding squads in need of long-term QB depth, to contenders looking to insure against injury, Young ought to appeal to several potential suitors. Now, it's a matter of whether or not the Panthers actually muster the courage to move on.

Carolina went above and beyond to land Young. At one point, the front office and ownership group believed he was the future of the franchise. It can be difficult to move off of deep-seated ideals, but the Panthers can't let disappointment or disillusionment get in the way of a good deal. Even if the deal pales in comparison to the objectively bad deal made to land Young initially.

Nothing will save this Panthers season. Carolina is a leaf floating in the storm. But, getting off of Young and at least establishing a game plan for the 2025 NFL Draft could be a step in the right direction for a franchise in flux.