Bryce Young's season, and NFL career, has gone almost exactly the opposite way he hoped.
Now, having been benched following the Panthers' loss in Week 2, he's receiving flak from all sides for how awful he was.
It's not surprising that Stephen A. Smith has joined the chorus of commentators slamming the young quarterback, but he went a step further, saying Young is a worse player than the majority of players who fell through the NFL Draft cracks.
Speaking on ESPN's “First Take” on Tuesday, Smith said Young may have had a worse start to his career than former Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell.
“It's a complete disaster,” Smith said, reeling off a host of statistics showing Young ranks at or near the bottom among playmakers in the league.
“Guys, JaMarcus Russell wasn't that bad,” Smith added. “You all know how I felt about JaMarcus Russell. This is probably the biggest flop in the history of the NFL. These things are starting to get talked about.”
Russell was the No. 1 pick by the Raiders in 2007 but played just three seasons in the league before retiring from the NFL for good.
Like Russell, Young was the No. 1 draft pick in 2023, selected ahead of reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year CJ Stroud.
Young is coming off a disastrous rookie season, starting the season 0-2 with just 55.4 percent completion of his passes, three interceptions and zero touchdowns.
Pro Football Focus graded Young at 30.1, but he was a total disaster for Carolina, who would have had the No. 1 pick in this year's draft had they not traded their 2024 first-round pick to select Young in 2023.
The Panthers will start veteran Andy Dalton in Week 3 and look to win against the Raiders.
“It's something I thought about after watching the film and started discussing it with the guys who make the decision together. There's certainly a lot of people involved there,” head coach Dave Canales told reporters on Monday.
“Ultimately, this is my responsibility and my number one responsibility is to help the Panthers win, so I believe this move gives me the best opportunity to accomplish that this week.”
