Picking, or at least announcing, a starting quarterback may not be as cut and dry for the Carolina Panthers as some may think.
Just as the case was right after yesterday’s 23-22 win over the New Orleans Saints, head coach Dave Canales did not name his team’s Week 10 starting quarterback on Monday. He remained non-committal about publicly choosing between veteran Andy Dalton and 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, who led the Panthers to their second victory of the season in Week 9.
“So we’re working through it right now,” Canales told reporters this afternoon. “Still just tryin’ to make sure we think about all the things that go into it, make sure we’re all on the same page, communicating that and we’ll make a decision in the next couple days.”
The 2-7 Panthers are set to travel to Germany to “host” the 2-7 New York Giants this weekend. Young, the starter for the last two outings, has taken some positive steps forward since his benching and seems to be the favorite to stick under center.
Canales was then asked if keeping the choice under wraps may also be a bit of gamesmanship on Carolina’s part.
“It’s both, it’s all of it,” he replied. “It’s just making sure that we make the right decision first for all for us, but then also, just making sure–there’s a component of it too, like the sooner (the Giants) know who they’re game planning for, the sooner they can get it.
“So, there’s no competitive advantage to making that decision. But mostly, it’s just about us taking all the information that we have right now.”
Over the past two weeks in the starting lineup, Young completed 63.5 percent of his throws for 395 yards, three touchdowns and three picks.
Dalton’s last start came in Week 7, where he threw for 93 yards and two interceptions in a 40-7 loss to the Washington Commanders.
