Taking someone’s job and still having to work alongside of them can’t be an entirely pleasant experience. Andy Dalton is in that scenario now, and spoke about it this afternoon.
Dalton, the new starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, chatted with reporters following Wednesday’s practice. The session saw the 14th-year veteran back with the first-stringers and second-year passer Bryce Young, the previous starter and last year’s No. 1 overall pick, in the No. 2 role with the scout team.
The 36-year-old was asked if there’s any awkwardness between himself and Young since the switch under center.
“Bryce has been awesome,” Dalton replied. “It’s a tough situation on everybody. Again, I have a different perspective of it ’cause I felt it on both sides. So Bryce and I’s friendship goes beyond just who’s the one out there. And it’s continued that way.”
As Dalton alluded to, he has been on the sour side of this scene before. That came in 2019, when the 0-8 Cincinnati Bengals moved off Dalton to start rookie Ryan Finley.
He talked about how that side felt.
“It’s hard, it’s tough,” Dalton said. “But you find little things that you can focus on to get better and you just continue to do what you can do. I think that was the biggest thing. You focus on what you can control and the rest will take care of itself.”
Sunday will mark Dalton’s 164th career start and his second as a Panther.
