It’s not a good look when the quarterback you passed up on is vastly outperforming the quarterback you wound up taking, especially with the No. 1 overall pick. Unfortunately, that’s what has happened with the Carolina Panthers—and Frank Reich paid the price for it.
On Monday, owner David Tepper made the decision to fire Reich, who left the Panthers at an embarrassing 1-10 record through a painfully short 11-game tenure. But the most embarrassing and most painful part of it all has been the stark contrast in production between their rookie quarterback Bryce Young and Houston’s rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
And Dianna Russini, senior NFL insider for The Athletic, reported that Stroud’s phenomenal campaign was a factor in Reich’s dismissal. She wrote the following on Saturday:
“Stroud’s early success 100 percent played into Tepper’s decision to fire (head coach) Frank Reich. We all felt the pressure and frustrations,” a Panthers source shared over the phone this week. “It’s hard to step in and carry the weight of a franchise, and Bryce has it harder than most here.”
Stroud, who was selected after Young with this year’s second overall pick, has already racked up two Offensive Rookie of the Month nods and the AFC Offensive Player of the Month award for November. Through 11 games, he has the Texans at a 6-5 mark with a league-leading 296.6 passing yards per game, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Young, meanwhile, is struggling trying to lead the one-win Panthers. He’s averaged just 187.7 passing yards per contest, nine scores and eight picks.
