Rex Ryan, Randy Moss and the rest of the ESPN “Sunday NFL Countdown” crew pulled no punches during this week's pregame show as they slammed the winless Panthers, who are without starting quarterback and 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young on the bench.
Moss called Carolina the “laughing stock of the league,” and Ryan said Panthers coach Dave Canales' hiring decisions, including replacing Young with veteran Andy Dalton for Sunday's game against the Raiders, were “a huge mistake.”
“I remember when I was in this league the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders were the laughing stock of the National Football League. Then the Cleveland Browns became the laughing stock. Now the laughing stock of the National Football League is the Carolina Panthers,” Moss said. “It's not because of how they played. It's because of everything from ownership down.”
The Panthers started 0-2 after finishing 2-15 last year, but they included a player on their team who would have been the No. 1 overall pick. In this year's draft, wide receiver DJ Moore is expected to trade up to draft Young in 2023 out of the University of Alabama.
“This organization is awful. No amount of money would be enough to play for the Carolina Panthers right now,” former NFL quarterback Alex Smith added. “Organizations are about accumulating talent, not letting go. They traded Christian McCaffrey. They let DJ Moore go. They let Brian Barnes go, they're letting go of their best player.”
“They don't know how to identify and retain talent. Yeah, Baker Mayfield stopped here too, but he wasn't good enough. Sam Darnold was here too, but he wasn't good enough either. I hope Bryce makes it out of there… The rumors are going around, but nobody wants to go there.”
Ryan, the former Jets coach, said he knew the hiring of Canales, who most recently served as the Buccaneers' offensive coordinator, wouldn't work out.
“I really had doubts about hiring Dave Canales as head coach from Week 1,” Ryan said, “and I'm sure the reason was because he's a quarterback guru or a quarterback coordinator or whatever.”
“Yeah. Let's talk a little bit about a young quarterback. You know how you fix him when he's struggling? They're going to struggle? With the running game and defense. That's the way it is. What's funny is, then you bring in Dave Canales. He was last in Tampa. Last in rushing the football and attempts per rush. And you put him there to help this guy? I knew this was going to be a disaster. I thought it was the worst hire of all time. I really did. I thought this was terrible for that kid's development. This turned out exactly how I predicted it would.”
Ryan added that he “had doubts” about the selection of Young, who was picked one pick ahead of current Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, because “this is a size and speed league.”
“But you can't question the kid,” Ryan continued. “He had all the other intangibles. He wasn't the biggest guy, but he was smart and he knew how to run the ball. And they weren't the only ones who wanted him.
“By the way, they didn't originally have the first pick in the draft. They traded up to get that pick. So in my opinion, that team was a good defense until they got traded. Too bad, that was a terrible hire. They've been through a million coaches and still haven't made the right choice.”
Reports have already suggested that several teams have expressed interest in a trade for the 23-year-old Young, and former NFL linebacker Tedy Bruschi said he hopes it will happen.
“I might play again later this year, but I want to quit. If I were Bryce, I want to quit,” Bruschi said. “You're not developing properly because you screwed me. He's got a team. [interested]I encourage him to leave.”
