Trades to Make: Carolina Panthers Quarterback Bryce Young

The NFL has seen several high-profile trades in recent weeks, but there's still time for teams to shake things up. In Trades to Make, we'll cover some of the best players who could be on the move before the November 5th trade deadline.

Quarterback Bryce Young

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young's first two years in the NFL have been an unmitigated disaster. The first-overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft has appeared largely helpless under center, winning only three of his 20 starts while averaging a paltry 162.3 passing yards and 4.18 net yards per attempt. The Panthers rightly benched him earlier this season and are reportedly already exploring the trade market for the one-time Heisman Trophy winner.

Young's best assets at this point are his age (23) and his draft pedigree. He's undersized (5'10, 204 lbs) and has failed to show he can elude NFL pass rushers (9.90 career sack %). Still, his mobility and ability to distribute the ball made him a dominant player at Alabama and a coveted draft prospect less than two years ago, so teams could still see some talent lurking within him.

Who should be interested?

Young makes sense on a team that can give him plenty of time to rebuild his confidence on the bench. He belongs with a competitive organization that already has a capable, veteran quarterback as their starter who might need replacing in a year or two. The Panthers can't realistically expect more than a mid-round pick in any trade package.

The Los Angeles Rams and quarterback Matt Stafford won a Super Bowl together following the 2021 season, but the last three years have been a bit of a slog. Stafford is 16-16 in the regular season since lifting the Lombardi, and he'll turn 37 before next season begins. Trading for Young would allow the Rams to start a succession plan without ever bottoming out. Learning under offensive guru Sean McVay for a couple of years could be just what Young needs to rehab his value.

The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the 2024 regular season hoping a pair of low-cost gambles on castoff quarterbacks would pay off. For the moment, that appears to have worked: they're sitting on a 6-2 record, and Russell Wilson has them averaging over 400 yards and 30 points per game over his two starts. However, Wilson is clearly not a long-term answer: He's on a one-year deal and will turn 36 later this month. If the Steelers want to groom a young quarterback while Wilson cooks for a year or two, Young may be better than anything they'll find in the draft. Plus, Young may benefit from seeing how Wilson, a similarly undersized, mobile quarterback, has adapted his game the NFL level.