Key Takeaways
The Panthers benched Bryce Young after 18 games due to performance concerns. Young joins a list of quarterbacks who struggled early in their careers, including players like Drew Brees and Kurt Warner, who were able to revive their careers after spending some time on the bench.
18 games. That’s how long it took the Carolina Panthers to decide that Bryce Young, their No. 1 draft pick just a year and a half ago, wasn’t ready to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.
Head coach Dave Canales was hired by the Panthers this offseason with the hopes of bringing back Bryce Young in the same way he brought back Geno Smith in Seattle two seasons ago and Baker Mayfield in Tampa last year.
When asked why he felt the need to bench Young in favor of 36-year-old veteran Andy Dalton, Canales said he felt the team needed a change, but said Young is not a trade target, suggesting the Panthers intend for Young to be their quarterback for the foreseeable future.
That’s not something we’re really considering. Right now, we have a great quarterback situation with guys that have a lot of experience.
The immediate focus is on whether Bryce Young can revive his career, but his numbers through 18 games don’t inspire much confidence.
Bryce Young’s NFL career stats
Statistical Category
total
start
18
completion %
59.3%
Passing Yards
3,122
Yards per attempt
5.4
Pass TD
11
Intercept
13
Passer Rating
70.9
The good news for Young is that he’s not the only young QB in NFL history to be benched early. Several QBs have taken a step back, gone to the bench, then re-emerged with renewed confidence and gone on to have successful careers.
Here are five QBs who found themselves in similar situations to the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner.
5. Drew Brees – San Diego Chargers (2004)
Brees has had a tough road to success in New Orleans.
Jason Parkhurst – USA TODAY Sports
Drew Brees was an anomaly in the NFL. When talent evaluators look at Bryce Young and say size doesn’t matter, they point to Drew Brees, who is under 6 feet tall. But Brees was the exception, not the rule.
Still, early in his career, Brees’ doubters seemed to be proven right as he struggled to produce consistently with the Chargers after being selected in the second round (32nd overall) in the 2001 draft.
Brees sat behind Doug Flutie in his rookie season and was named the starter before the 2002 season. Brees started well, but the Chargers went 2-7 down the stretch and finished the season with a 7-9 record. In his first year as a starter, Brees had 3,284 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
Brees’ struggles intensified the following year, as he and the Chargers started the season 1-7. Brees was benched for a few games in place of veteran Flutie, but regained his starting role by Week 15 in what was, at that point, a losing season.
Drew Brees’ stats in 2003 before he was benched
Record (WL)
Completion rate
Passing Yards
Touchdown
Intercept
Passer Rating
1-7
56.4
1,450
7
12
58.9
Concerns about Brees’ durability and inconsistency led the Chargers to trade for Philip Rivers in the 2004 draft (after drafting Eli Manning, who refused to play for the Chargers), sparking a QB controversy that eventually led to Brees tearing his labrum in his shoulder on this play in Week 17 of the 2005 season.
Brees left the Chargers in free agency and signed with the New Orleans Saints, and the rest is history.
4. Kurt Warner – Benched multiple times during his career
Warner managed to find his footing in St. Louis and Arizona.
Joe Nicholson – USA TODAY Sports
Kurt Warner’s story was too good for Hollywood to miss, because his is a story that could only exist in Hollywood.
We all know the story of Warner’s time playing in NFL Europe and bagging groceries before he was thrust into the Rams’ starting lineup and enjoyed a fantastic 1999 season. But what people often forget is that just a few seasons later, Warner began to show signs of decline and was relegated to the bench. After being forced to miss most of the 2002 season with an injury (after an 0-6 start), Warner returned in 2003 and had a disastrous performance in Week 1, forcing six fumbles.
Sensing they were done with Warner, the Rams turned to Marc Bulger, who signed with the New York Giants as a free agent. Warner’s time in New York was short-lived, as he was benched midway through the 2004 season for rookie Eli Manning.
Kurt Warner’s stats in 2004 before he was benched
Record (WL)
Completion rate
Passing Yards
Touchdown
Intercept
Fumble (fumble loss)
5-4
62.8
2,054
6
4
12 (4)
Warner appeared destined to spend the rest of his NFL career as a reserve player after signing with the Arizona Cardinals in 2005, but his rocky path there led to Arizona drafting Matt Leinart. Warner eventually regained his starting spot during the 2008 season, leading Arizona to its only Super Bowl appearance and perhaps earning his spot in Canton with a late-career resurgence.
3. Geno Smith – New York Jets (2014)
Smith is one of the NFL’s most intriguing reclamation projects.
Robert Deutsch – USA TODAY
Geno Smith was once written off, written off as a failure and looked destined to be a journeyman backup for the rest of his career.
Smith happened to be a good fit with the Seattle Seahawks and has done a respectable job in Seattle since Russell Wilson left for the Broncos a few years ago.
But looking back at Smith’s time with the New York Jets, he looked like just another one of Gang Green’s mediocre quarterbacks.
Smith was drafted by the Jets in 2013 and was expected to be a better player than Mark Sanchez. Sanchez suffered a shoulder injury before the season began, which put Smith on the field a little earlier than expected for the Jets. Smith experienced the expected growing pains in his rookie year, throwing 21 interceptions and throwing 12 touchdowns.
Smith’s struggles continued in 2014, culminating in a disastrous loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 8.
Geno Smith stats (Week 8, 2014 vs. Buffalo)
Completed – Attempted
Completion rate
Passing Yards
Touchdown
Intercept
Passer Rating
2/8 2/8
twenty five%
5
0
3
0
The Jets started Ryan Fitzpatrick in 2015, limiting Smith’s playing time in New York from then on. After Fitzpatrick was benched in 2016, Smith looked set to bounce back, but he tore his ACL in the second game, ending his season.
Smith signed with the New York Giants the following offseason, then with the Chargers the following year, before signing with Seattle in 2019 and spending three seasons as Russell Wilson’s backup before having the best year of his career in 2022.
2. Kerry Collins – Carolina Panthers (1997)
The Panthers benched Collins after their surprise win in the NFC Championship Game.
Peter Brouillé – USA TODAY Sports
Kerry Collins helped build the Carolina Panthers franchise. Drafted fifth overall in 1995, Collins joined the expansion team and quarterbacked the NFC Championship Game in just his second season.
However, after a terrible start to the 1997 season, Collins was considered a fluke and was benched after starting three games.
Kerry Collins’ stats in 1997 before he was benched
Record (WL)
Completion rate
Passing Yards
Touchdown
Turnover
Passer Rating
1-2
48.6
592
4
10
48.7
Backup Steve Buehrlein also performed poorly, and Collins returned to the starting role in 1997, but the Panthers struggled, finishing with a 7-9 record.
Collins’ struggles continued in 1998, and after an 0-4 start, he requested a trade. His request was granted and he was traded to the Saints. Collins would eventually revive his career with the Giants, leading the team to the Super Bowl in the 2000 season.
Collins went on to have a solid, if erratic, career with Oakland and Tennessee before retiring in 2011 after a brief stint with the Colts.
1. Baker Mayfield – Carolina Panthers (2022)
Mayfield knows the struggles of being the Panthers’ quarterback.
© Bob Donnan Images
For Baker Mayfield, 2022 with the Carolina Panthers will be a forgettable chapter in his career.
After the Cleveland Browns made a disastrous trade for Deshaun Watson and the subsequent disastrous contract that followed, the Panthers were able to acquire Mayfield for a relatively cheap price by simply sending a conditional fifth-round pick to Cleveland.
Unfortunately, as we’ve seen with the Panthers in recent years, they’re not the go-to team for a young quarterback who’s trying to find his footing.
Mayfield’s tenure as a starter for Carolina was brief, as the Panthers turned to P.J. Walker after suffering a high ankle sprain and continued to use the former XFL star even after Mayfield was fit to play again.
Baker Mayfield’s stats with the Carolina Panthers (2022)
Record (WL)
Completion rate
Passing Yards
Touchdown
Intercept
Passer Rating
1-5
57.8 (119/206)
1,313
6
6
74.4
Mayfield requested his release from Carolina after going 1-5 as the team’s starting quarterback, finished the 2022 season with the Rams, where he performed solidly, and signed with the Buccaneers in 2023, where he would have a major career resurgence.
Maybe that’s why Mayfield recently offered words of encouragement to Bryce Young, despite the two being division rivals.
I mean, I’m sitting here in a much better place now than I was ever going to be. No disparaging of other teams, but this is about the pieces you coaches have around you. With Bryce, I can empathize with finding that belief within yourself again. He’s going to get it. His story is far from over.
Being benched can be a demoralizing blow, but it can also be a blessing in disguise. Let’s see how the Bryce Young saga plays out.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference unless otherwise noted.
