With 13 years of pro experience under his belt, Carolina Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton has been there and done that in the NFL—and that’s why he’s here behind Bryce Young.
The veteran was recently featured on The Jim Rome Show, where he was asked about Young’s rough rookie campaign in 2023.
“Yeah, I thought he handled it well,” Dalton replied. “You know, he’s never in his life had a season like that and had to handle the adversity that he had to deal with. It was a tough year. And then you throw in losing your head coach after 11 games and changes on offense all the things that went into it, it was tough. So I think for him, I thought he handled it well, and I kept telling him, just stay the course.”
The No. 1 overall pick looked far from his billing, at least in the box score. Young finished the season having averaged just 179.8 passing yards per game with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Oh, and the team’s 2-15 record wasn’t too great either.
Nonetheless, Dalton believes the lessons from last year, as well as the work done by the franchise’s new regime this offseason, will lead to a better 2024 for Young.
“This thing is going to get better, it’s going to improve,” he added. “And I think what we have done this offseason, bringing in some guys, bringing in a couple guards on the offensive line, you know, different things, trading for Diontae Johnson, I think it’s getting built the right way where, yeah, it’s going to set him up to have a better year.”
Along with their acquisition of the Pro Bowler in Johnson, the Panthers also invested heavily into Young’s interior protection. After having to start six different players at left guard and seven different players at right guard in 2023, Carolina dropped a whopping $153 million on the duo of Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt.
And with the front office having a pair of high second-round picks in their pocket, the Panthers could be prepared to bring Young even more help—especially out of a very, very deep receiver class.
