CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Just 18 starts into his NFL career, Bryce Young was benched by the Carolina Panthers, and he's getting support from some of the biggest names in sports.
NBA legend LeBron James encouraged Young to keep working and good things would come.
"Rooting for you and know this ain't on you!" James posted on X. "Continue to put the work in and it shall prevail!"
Young was benched Monday following Carolina's 26-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The decision caught many people by surprise, as head coach Dave Canales reiterated immediately after the game that Young was the team's quarterback. Canales refused to say if owner David Tepper influenced the decision to bench Young, instead saying it was "his decision" after reviewing the film and gathering all of the available information.
Now, Carolina turns to journeyman Andy Dalton to lead them against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3.
Young also received support from another quarterback who experienced a not-so-great situation after being drafted. Ryan Leaf, the No. 2 pick in 1998 by the Chargers, slammed the Panthers organization for how it handled Young.
"They screwed this thing up from the get-go," Leaf told TMZ Sports. "I mean, this organization is horrible. This organization has done nothing to try to help and develop a player that has so much expectation on him. And so, I laid this at the feet of the organization completely."
Leaf was widely viewed as one of the biggest misses in NFL draft history as he finished his career 4-17 as a starter, completing just over 48% of his passes. He was out of the NFL after the 2001 season.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, Young has started to draw similar comparisons. According to ESPN's David Newton, the Panthers are the first team to have no passing touchdowns and throw for less than 150 yards in four straight games since the 2009 Raiders, who were led by JaMarcus Russell in all of those games.
When you factor in what Carolina gave up to draft Young No. 1 overall, it's easy to see why alarm bells are ringing. The Panthers are 31-70 since Tepper bought the team in 2018. That's the worst record in the league during that span, one game behind the New York Jets.