Panthers HC Dave Canales elected to bench QB Bryce Young two games into last season before the quarterback reemerged as their starter. Canales reflected on Young’s season, saying he proved his leadership after staying engaged with the team despite being demoted.
“It’s about this love and respect factor, that we’ve grown with each other through hard times,” Canales said, viaJoseph Person of The Athletic. “Bryce, during the season, showed me his leadership. Showed me that even when we were a struggling team, even when I took him out, he stayed in the center of it. And he continued to lead. And for him to have the respect to say, ‘Look, I don’t agree with your decision, Coach.’ But working together to continue to grow this thing means so much.”
Young is grateful for Canales and Carolina’s coaching staff for believing in him and is now focused on making sure they continue in the “right direction.”
“I appreciate the support. I’m grateful for the staff and for the team, obviously, just believing in me and us going (forward) together. We all have the goal to win,” Young said. “ So it’s good, and now it’s on us to put the work in in the offseason. Make sure we’re going the right direction, working on things, getting to where we need to be for the start of the year. After minicamp, it’ll be on us individually to make sure we’re right, and then go into training camp and into the season.”
Canales said it wasn’t an easy decision to bench Young, knowing some players don’t respond well to losing the starting job.
“I struggled with that a lot because you see historically what can happen when you have a quarterback (who) comes in and you go through some challenges. Some guys don’t have the resilience to be able to battle through the emotional strain, as well as the football strain combined,” Canales said. “I was nervous about that and I struggled with that. That decision was not taken lightly. That risk brought out the best in Bryce.”
