Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers have shown a better face in the start to the 2025 NFL season, but they haven’t been able to win more than one game in four duels. The NFC West franchise is 1-3 ahead of the Week 5 duel against the Miami Dolphins after another lopsided loss to the New England Patriots (42-13).
Young’s performances haven’t been terrible, but the lack of success has played against him, and now his future with the Panthers might be up in the air. After revitalizing his career in 2024, even after he was benched for Andy Dalton, Young started the season with renewed expectations.
So far in four games, he has completed 87 of 144 pass attempts for 753 yards and five touchdowns. Young has been intercepted three times and sacked six times. While these numbers aren’t necessarily terrible, the Panthers’ record is a source of concern among fans and analysts and some think we might be seeing the last of Young in Carolina.
NFL analyst says Panthers could part with Bryce Young after this season
Jeff Howe of The Athletic wrote on Tuesday that Young overcame big roadblocks during his still-young NFL career. He ranked 18th among all qualified QBs in expected points per dropback (0.07), behind some of the best quarterbacks in the league last season, Jayden Daniels (0.09) and Sam Darnold (0.08).
This season, however, he ranks 30th, only ahead of rookie Cam Ward, 41-year-old veteran Joe Flacco, and Bengals backup Jake Browning.
“At this point, the Panthers would be all but declaring their intentions to split with Young if they benched him again,” Howe wrote. “If it does reach that point, it’s also likely the Panthers would be barreling toward their eighth consecutive season with a losing record. And since owner David Tepper bought the team in 2018, he’s never employed a head coach for three full seasons, which effectively puts Canales on the clock. This, of course, is the type of turnover that keeps organizations in constant peril. It may also lead to the breaking point that opens the door for Young to find a fresh start with another team.”
The Panthers could put an end to this partnership soon, as Young has yet to reach the level the team expected from him when they drafted him with the No. 1 overall pick.