Bryce Young (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Carolina Panthers quarterback and 2023 first-overall pick Bryce Young is one of the top names to follow on the trade market leading up to the Nov. 5 deadline.
After losing his first two starts in 2024, Bryce Young was benched in favor of veteran Andy Dalton by first-year head coach Dave Canales. The Panthers (1-4) will likely finish with a top-five draft pick, which would put them in a position to take an elite QB prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft like Texas’ Quinn Ewers, Georgia’s Carson Beck, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders or Miami’s Cam Ward.
The 23-year-old Young has lost 16 of his 18 NFL starts, completing only 59.3 percent of pass attempts for 3,180 yards, 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions for a quarterback rating of 71.0.
Carolina’s best bet is to ride out the final 12 games of 2024 with Dalton and give Bryce Young a fresh start. There are several QB-needy teams who should have interest in the Alabama product, but the Las Vegas Raiders especially make sense as a landing spot.
The Raiders announced this week that they were benching veteran Gardner Minshew II in favor of sophomore Aidan O’Connell. The Raiders are a true franchise QB away from being a legitimate playoff contender in a crowded AFC, so why not take a flier on Bryce Young?
This isn’t to say that Young would definitely emerge as a superstar in Sin City. But he’d play behind one of football’s best offensive lines, with an ultimate players coach like Antonio Pierce and a nice set of weapons led by Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers.
What Raiders Should Offer Panthers For Bryce Young
The Raiders should offer the Panthers 2025 fourth and 2026 fifth-round picks for Bryce Young. That price may seem low for a recent first-overall pick, but Young’s play up to this point means Carolina can’t realistically expect a whole lot in return.
For the Panthers, this is about tanking and putting themselves in a position to draft an elite QB prospect next year. For the Raiders, it’d be a low-risk move with the mindset that Young will finally hit his ceiling with a simple change of scenery.
