How bad was the start to the Carolina Panthers season? Was it that bad to bench the former no 1 overall draft pick after just two games into the regular season? Although there were holes throughout the Panthers’ roster, one person seems to have found himself facing the guillotine. Former Alabama QB Bryce Young gets sacked to the bench, citing a woeful start to his second season in the NFL.

After this decision was taken in Carolina, Young might not have many things to say in his defense. As Stephen A. Smith calls out the former Heisman Trophy winner for sabotaging the Panthers. On ESPN’s First Take, Smith described Young as “the biggest bust in NFL history” after going through his long list of miserable stats.

His horrific stats put Young among the worst-performing NFL QBs, with 250 passing attempts while recording a 59.3% pass completion rate. But that’s not all. The Panthers QB is “last in yards per attempt, last in touchdown percentage, last in passer rating,” Smith pointed out. Well, those numbers have not helped the Panthers, as they managed to lead for a total of 10 seconds in their last 10 games.

As Smith continued on Young, he pointed out how his trade last year was “an unmitigated disaster” after the QB’s record of 2-16 in the NFL, ranking as the worst. After rolling out those statistics, Smith drew out comparisons with his least favorite player yet, “Ladies and gentlemen, JaMarcus Russell wasn’t even that bad, and you know how I felt about Jamarcus Russell.”

However, this wasn’t the only thought of Smith after Young was demoted to the bench. As Smith remembered the moment he first met the Panthers QB in 2023, where he spoke about his lack of height.

Bryce Young gets criticism for his small stature

As Carolina’s hopes with Bryce Young evaporate after two games into the regular season. All the positive reports that came out during the offseason went into the gutter as Andy Dalton got promoted to QB1. Although the Panthers may have found themselves a replacement within the roster, Smith had this predicted a long time back.

The decision to bench Young didn’t come as a surprise to Smith, who first laid eyes on the QB in Arizona last year. “As much as I love him, and he was an absolute stud before he got drafted, here is what I was saying after meeting Bryce Young in Arizona. This kid is sensational. I met him on Super Bowl Sunday coach, and I couldn’t believe how small he was,” Smith expressed. Standing at 5 foot 10 inches, Young’s height isn’t an advantage to his impressive skill set.

Remembering his thoughts on the QB, Smith brought back his prediction. “I was right. Bryce Young, it ain’t about skill set. It’s about his size and his lack of prowess on the NFL level. He’s just too small.” Although there could be limitations about his height, Young’s passing capabilities aren’t too catchy either.

In his last two games for the Panthers, the 23-year-old got sacked six times while completing only 55% of his passes. As the Panthers decided to pull the plug on their QB1, will it be enough to get them back on track this season? Or are there some deeper issues that aren’t getting attention in Carolina?