Ryan Leaf defends Bryce Young amid benching, rips Panthers

Ryan Leaf feels for Bryce Young and what he is going through right now, and he puts the blame solely on the Carolina Panthers. It was reported Monday that Carolina intended to bench the former No. 1 overall pick in favor of Andy Dalton after starting the year 0-2.

It came as a surprise to many, as the Panthers gave up DJ Moore, a first-round pick and two second-round picks to the Bears in 2023 for right to draft Young. Now seemingly haven given up on him less than two years later, they find themselves in one of the worst positions of any NFL franchise.

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“They screwed this thing up from the get-go, though. I mean, this organization is horrible,” Leaf told TMZ. “This organization has done nothing to try to help and develop a player that has so much expectation on him. And so, I laid this at the feet of the organization completely.”

Additional reports emerged that Young and his camp were “shocked” upon learning the news of his benching. It’s certainly a position he is not accustomed to after winning the Heisman Trophy in college at Alabama and coming into the league with sky high expectations.

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That is a situation that Leaf can certainly relate to in his own career as an NFL quarterback. He was the No. 2 pick in the 1998 NFL Draft to the San Diego Chargers, entering the league with similar expectations to what Young had.

However, after only three seasons, Leaf was released from the team. He recalled the feeling of not having support from the franchise or his teammates, which he believes is what Young is going through right now.

“He has zero confidence right now,” Leaf explained. “No one believes in him and no one has his back. And I know what that feels like. You don’t want to go into the office. You don’t want to be around anybody. Football seems so toxic to you because you’ve always had that. You’ve always had success. And you’ve always been the guy that everybody loved to lift up and follow and everything like that.

“And right now, there’s no one in that locker room that seemingly feels that way. And that is a hard place to be as a leader of men when you’re 22, 23 years old.”

Perhaps there is still a world where young can turn things around for his career. But if the Panthers already have lost hope enough to bench him, it’s likely a revival would come with a different franchise.