Bryce Young was benched by the Carolina Panthers after just two games into the 2024 season.
Everyone seems to be in favor of Bryce Young, but he is looking in the mirror and says that it was not something that he expected.
Bryce Young was the No. 1 overall pick for the Panthers in 2023. He addressed the demotion on Thursday. He said that the decision took him by surprise as the Panthers benched him after two defeats in the season.
“Not something I was necessarily expecting,” Young said, via Panthers beat reporter Sheena Quick. “Obviously, not something that was great to hear, but I respect Coach Canales, I respect the organization. They made the decision. … Right now, that’s the situation that it is. I have to do everything to help the team whatever way I can.”
This decision by the Panthers has drawn a lot of reaction from the sports fraternity and community. The NBA legend and superstar LeBron James took to social media and said benching “ain’t on you.”
While it may be valid to blame the Panthers for this, Young is focused on what he could have done to avoid the situation.
“At the end of the day, we had a ton of drives, a ton of games that I didn’t do enough during that. I look in the mirror and I take accountability for that. … For the most part, every snap hit my hands and I didn’t do enough with it at the end of the day.”
He is right though. It can be seen as a major sign of panic from the Panthers. They have also not done a great job of putting Young in better situations. He was asked to shoulder too much load offensively during those two games of the season.
“Really, I’m a day-by-day type of person. Big picture stuff, that’s out of my hands. That’s in God’s hands. Organizational stuff, that’s with the people upstairs. I’m super grateful to be part of this team, this organization. I wanna help the team any way I can, and that’s my focus.”
