The idea of the Panthers moving on from Bryce Young has been floated, but the bigger issue is that the last two weeks have had as much to do with what’s around him as with Young himself.
FOX Sports’ Jason McIntyre and Colin Cowherd weren’t buying that view, though, and their quarterback solution for Carolina went well past aggressive. McIntyre said this marked “back-to-back weeks” that Young “did not look like a starting quarterback,” while Cowherd said he couldn’t extend Young if he were the Panthers based on those two games.
McIntyre also pointed back to the offseason, when head coach Dave Canales described Young as the franchise player “for now.” From there, the conversation turned to a far bigger name.
“Lamar Jackson wanted a contract, has not gotten it,” McIntyre said. “Does he want to head south, perhaps?
Is there a world where Carolina makes a move on Lamar Jackson? I'm just speculating because Bryce Young just does not look like the guy.”
Cowherd went a step further, calling Young “too good to be a backup” and labeling him a high-level bridge quarterback.
That take ignores what Young has actually been dealing with. He has faced the highest pressure rate in the NFL, and since Week 3 he has also been playing through a knee injury that has taken away some of his mobility. Put that together with protection that has fallen off a cliff - and was already shaky - and it’s a brutal setup for almost any quarterback.
None of that changes the obvious part: Jackson would be an upgrade. He’s a two-time MVP, one of the very best quarterbacks in football, and his prime is still rolling. But the fit is where the fantasy starts to unravel.
Carolina would still be on the hook for Young’s fifth-year option even without an extension. Then there’s the price of getting Jackson, which would be enormous in trade compensation alone.
After that comes the contract, and the math gets even uglier. It’s one thing to pass on what could be a $40 million salary for Young; it’s another to add a $60 million salary for Jackson on top of that.
There’s also the durability question. Young has been available.
Jackson, lately, has not. And if the Panthers’ offensive line is this porous, it’s fair to ask whether a different slender quarterback would fare any better behind it.
Young may not be Jackson, but simply swapping one for the other doesn’t make sense for Carolina.
In Other News...
Panthers Fans May See The McCaffrey Trade Very Differently Now
With the NFL trade deadline approaching, cornerback help has become one of the Carolina Panthers clearest needs, and the market is shaping up with an unexpected reference point. The Indianapolis Colts reportedly want a return for Jonathan Taylor that matches what Carolina landed when it sent Christian McCaffrey to San Francisco, which turns an old franchise-defining deal into a fresh measuring stick for how teams value star players in-season.
For Panthers fans, the comparison is hard to ignore because those McCaffrey picks were supposed to help reshape the roster, and the article revisits how Carolina used them and how those moves have aged. What once looked like a clean reset now reads a little differently depending on how you judge the return, and it adds another layer to a deadline period when the Panthers are still trying to solve a pressing need at the back end of the defense. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Fans Suddenly Have A Real Quenton Nelson Debate
Taylor Motons season-ending injury has only sharpened the focus on Carolinas offensive line, and it has also opened the door to an uncomfortable what-if for Panthers fans. With the unit already under pressure, the recent deal that sent Quenton Nelson to Seattle for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick is the kind of move that naturally makes a team like Carolina wonder whether it should have been in the conversation.
There is no indication the Panthers were actually involved in any trade talks, but the price Seattle paid is low enough to fuel the debate anyway. For a team trying to stabilize the front in the middle of a difficult stretch, Nelsons availability is the sort of opportunity that can linger in the background, especially when the alternative is trying to patch together protection after losing one of the groups most important pieces. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Cornerback Crisis Could Force A Trade Deadline Decision
The Panthers cornerback room has been hit so hard by injuries that the depth chart has become a weekly survival exercise. With only two healthy cornerbacks left on the active roster as of Week 9, Carolina is trying to patch together a secondary that has been gutted by injuries, while the firing of defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero only adds to the sense that the defense is entering a critical stretch.
That shortage has pushed the trade deadline into sharper focus, and CBS Sports writer Josh Edwards has already floated the idea that Carolina may need outside help. He went a step further by naming five possible cornerback trade targets, a sign that the Panthers may have to decide whether to ride out the injuries or make a move before the market closes. [Read more 🡒]