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Baker Mayfield knows a thing or two about getting a shot at redemption after being written off in the NFL, and had a great response to a question about Bryce Young’s current situation and prospects for the future after the Panthers benched the QB whose career has gotten off to a very dubious start.
There was obviously a ton of hype surrounding Bryce Young when he was selected by the Carolina Panthers with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but critics who said the franchise should have gone with C.J. Stroud or Anthony Richardson have to feel pretty vindicated based on what’s transpired since he entered the league.
On Sunday, Young saw his record as a starter drop to 2-16 after the Panthers lost to the Chargers, and Carolina didn’t waste any time mixing things up when it announced the decision to have Andy Dalton replace the embattled quarterback as the team’s starter just three games into the latter’s sophomore campaign.
The Panthers have been a shining beacon of dysfunction since David Tepper became the owner of the team in 2020, and you could argue the decision to use the No. 1 pick to draft Young was just another testament to that fact. With that said, I think it’s just as easy to assert he was doomed to fail due to the dismal state of the franchise that scooped him up.
As things currently stand, it seems like there’s a chance Young will be lumped in with JaMarcus Russell and Ryan Leaf when it comes to the most high-profile draft busts in NFL history. However, Baker Mayfield was able to speak from personal experience while explaining why it may be too early to come to that conclusion.
There are plenty of parallels between the two men: Mayfield was also a Heisman Trophy winner who ended up being the top pick in the NFL Draft in 2017, and while he fared a bit better with the Browns than Young has with the Panthers, he still had a fairly tumultuous tenure in Cleveland.
That four-year run preceded an ill-fated stint with Carolina that raised plenty of doubts about Mayfield’s abilities before he turned heads with some late-season heroics with the Rams after being claimed off waivers, and he’s mostly maintained that positive momentum since linking up with the Buccaneers.
Only time will tell what the future holds for Young, but Mayfield provided some perspective while addressing his benching during a press conference on Wednesday ahead of Tampa Bay’s showdown with Denver.
Baker Mayfield was asked about Bryce Young’s benching in Carolina, and he explained how tough playing quarterback is, especially when the supporting cast isn’t great.
“His story is far, far from finished.”
Baker played in Carolina, is a former No. 1 pick and eventually bounced… pic.twitter.com/4iLBfHNPmP
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 18, 2024
Here’s what he had to say:
“Quarterback’s hard, especially for young guys. When you’re not surrounded with the pieces, you’re not given the opportunity to have success. A lot of the time, guys have the talent, they might have the brains, but they don’t have the right opportunity; the right fit.
I’m sitting here right now in a way better fit than the other places I’ve been. That’s not to put other teams down, but it’s a matter of the pieces around you, the coaches, and for Bryce, it’s finding that belief inside yourself again
He’ll get it. His story’s far, far from finished.”
I guess we’ll have to wait and see.