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Although he could start this weekend for the Carolina Panthers, one insider proposed shipping off Bryce Young, the second-year player who was benched earlier this season, to the New York Giants.
The Panthers are reportedly still unsure about which quarterback will start their Week 9 game vs. the New Orleans Saints, with Andy Dalton having been sidelined for the team's 28-14 loss to the Denver Broncos after spraining his thumb in a car accident. In his absence, Young, who Carolina selected first overall last year and was benched for Dalton after the second game of this season, threw for 224 yards and tossed 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions vs. Denver.
With Dalton's status for the Panthers' NFC South matchup with the Saints still unknown, Young could get his fourth start of the season. But when Dalton is ready to play, the Panthers trading Young could be an interesting possibility.
ESPN's Dan Graziano proposed, if Carolina is up for it, the team trading Young to the Giants in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick.
“I don't think Carolina's going to do any better than a fourth-rounder for Young right now (which could be a reason to actually hang onto him), but if the Panthers have decided to move on, New York would be a nice landing spot for him,” Graziano wrote. “Young and Giants coach Brian Daboll didn't overlap at Alabama, but they surely know a lot of the same people at the school, and Daboll might view Young as a player he could develop.
“The Giants don't know what their future at quarterback holds in 2025 and beyond, and a cheap flier on a guy who was the No. 1 pick just 18 months ago could be worth it.”
Could Panthers trade Bryce Young to Giants?
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While it is one thing to bench a second-year player — the Indianapolis Colts did something similar this week in starting veteran Joe Flacco over 2023 No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson — it is another to trade him midseason. Although it seems like Carolina has, in large part, given up on the idea of Young being a franchise quarterback, it seems unlikely the team would further signal that the draft pick — and the big trade it made to acquire the pick — was a massive mistake.
However, Young, 23, may seem promising as a buy-low option for teams, including the Giants. Daniel Jones has started 67 games since entering the NFL in 2019, but now in his sixth season, there appears to be a large contingent of fans wanting to move on. The push for that would likely grow even louder if New York brought in a quarterback like Young to back him up.
Jones is currently in the second season of a four-year, $160 million contract he signed last year. If the team were to trade him this year, it would create $11.1 million in dead cap this season and $22.2 million next season. If the Giants wait until after June 1, 2025, to trade or release him, the dead cap would be split evenly between 2025 and 2026 at $11.1 million each year.
Jones is completing 62.6% of his passes and has thrown 6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions so far this season. In his career, Jones has averaged 212 passing yards per start and completed 64% of his passes. For comparison, Young has averaged 179 yards per start and completed 60% of his passes.
