When Panthers' Dave Canales saw 'shift' in Bryce Young during 2024 season

In mid-October, it appeared that second-year quarterback Bryce Young may never again take a meaningful snap for the Carolina Panthers. He had been benched following a pair of woeful performances to start the season. 

However, first-year head coach Dave Canales had to return to Young for Carolina's Week 8 game versus the Denver Broncos when veteran Andy Dalton was sidelined with a sprained thumb he suffered in a car accident.

During a Thursday appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Canales discussed how Young's first contest back in the starting lineup ultimately helped the 23-year-old remain Carolina's QB1 through Week 18. 

"He threw some balls with confidence," Canales said about Young's performance in the 28-14 loss to Denver, Sports Illustrated's Zach Roberts shared. "He was having fun. Connecting with his teammates, working the sideline, all that. I could see this shift in him."

Young was hardly perfect against the Broncos, as he connected on 24-of-37 pass attempts for 224 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the defeat. From there, he guided Carolina to four wins over the club's final nine games and showed he can be "the guy" in Canales' eyes. 

Over the 10 starts that followed his benching, Young completed roughly 61.8% of his pass attempts for 2,104 yards with 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also rushed for 223 yards and five scores on the ground across those outings. 

"I just gotta give all the credit to Bryce," Canales added, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. "Handling it the way that he did with maturity, attacking it and really positioning himself for that next opportunity not knowing when that opportunity would come. Stepping back in and doing the work, taking the challenge and really finding the joy in playing again."

Young's career path could serve as a reminder that not all quarterbacks taken with first overall picks of drafts should be first-week starters as rookies. If he continues to improve from springtime workouts through next January, he could eventually view the benching he endured this past September as a career-saving event.