An NFL analyst believes a bad season is ahead for Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young.
The Carolina Panthers are getting set to kick off the 2026 NFL season as the long wait is about over. Carolina is coming off a 2025 season in which they went 8-9 but won a tiebreaker to earn the NFC South title.
But going into the 2026 season, there are doubters that the Panthers can repeat that and win a playoff game. The NFC South is considered one of the weaker divisions again this year, which gives analysts pause on just how good any of those teams in the division can be.
However, the biggest question surrounding the Panthers is quarterback Bryce Young.
Going into his fourth season, Young's future is in question in Carolina. The Panthers picked up the fifth year option, a smart move, but have yet to commit to him for the long term future. A good season by Young gives the Panthers hopes he can be that guy as a franchise quarterback. But a bad year just leaves more questions.
Douglas Clawson of CBS Sports put out his bold predictions for the NFL season and for the Panthers, he predicts that Young will be benched at some point this season:
Bryce Young has slowly taken steps forward in the Panthers offense, capped by going worst to first in the abysmal NFC South last season. Perhaps the improvements have been exaggerated, though. He was 28th in the NFL in EPA per dropback last season and he will be benched in 2026 when he is unable to take Carolina to the next level... The team picked up his fifth-year option this offseason, but the Panthers' brash owner David Tepper won't put up with a step backward from Young.
That's not good as it would mean the Panthers are struggling overall and will have to turn to someone like Kenny Pickett at some point this season. The only positive in that situation would mean that the Panthers would have their decision made in terms of the future of Young.
With the 2027 quarterback class considered a strong one, it might be a good opportunity for the Panthers to move on and take another swing. But you really don't want to see that scenario play out and instead would rather see the former first round pick in Young succeed.
