This Is Wrong.

On so many levels is this wrong.

How the Panthers got Bryce Young was wrong, trading their entire short-term future to surround their franchise savior with an island of misfit toys.

How they handled Bryce Young was wrong, throwing him out as a rookie behind one of the worst offensive lines in football to get sacked more than a dragonfly footbag on a 2005 elementary school playground, and devoiding him of weapons after trading CMC and DJ Moore the prior year.

How they run the organization is wrong, starting a rebuild mere months before scrapping a rebuild to go all in on a 5'9" QB cause their hot head of an owner couldn’t stand losing and fired his fourth coach in as many years.

How they operate is wrong, as said owner fires coaches more often than Donald Trump fires employees, none more egregious than Steve Wilks, a Carolina native who as interim coach in 2022 led the CMC-less and at the time perceived-to-be-washed Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold-led Panthers to their best record under Tepper's reign of 7-10 (6-6 with Wilks as coach). Just as the team reached the surface of reviving from the dead, Tepper took a shovel and smoked them back to six feet under.

Reports of David Tepper meddling with football decisions run rampant, not allowing the positions of power he employs to judiciously deploy said power over the very decisions they were hired to make, then blaming them for his failures and ultimately taking the fall for his shortcomings.

Example number 1 – drafting Bryce Young.

It’s no secret that Bryce is a Panther because Tepper wanted him to be. That the coaching staff wasn’t convinced he was the best player in the draft, but took him knowing good and well their flamethrower of a boss might have their heads on spikes if they didn’t. Only to fire Frank Reich after 11 games…I rest my case.

I feel bad for Bryce Young. We may never know if he could’ve been a good quarterback, cause he never had the opportunity to be one. He was stuck in a franchise that didn’t believe in him. He was surrounded by nobodies that weren’t equipped for success. He had three head coaches in his 18 game career.

And his organization is a complete dumpster fire.

You cannot get me to believe that David Tepper didn’t force Dave Canales, who said less than 24 hours prior to benching Bryce that he wasn’t going to bench Bryce, to bench Bryce. That Canales specifically said in his press conference that the owner wasn’t involved in the decision-making process because he wants to be a head coach longer than his three predecessors (29 cumulative games).

I know the tape was bad, and it’s been bad, but this just doesn’t make sense. Bryce has learned three new systems in one calendar year. He’s played two career games with a WR1 and none with a competent OL. And he's 23 years old. You traded your future to pick him number 1 overall, and give up on him after 18 games?

I agree that Andy Dalton gives you a better chance to win this week. But it’s not like the 36 year old who’s played two seasons worth of football games since COVID is going to bring hope to the Queen City, so again I ask why?

Why give up on your guy this quick? Why play him in the first place if you were even willing to give up this quick?

We may never know these answers, but we do know the Bryce Young era is over in Carolina. And while Bryce was not innocent in his role, he was at best a supporting actor.

Wrong turns everywhere. It would suck to be a Panthers fan.