When a team selects a player with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, it’s safe to expect that player to have an instant impact on the team, especially if a team traded up to select him. But apparently, that’s not necessarily the case for the Carolina Panthers
This week, Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer revealed that they have “no timeline” for when Bryce Young will be inserted into the starting lineup and that Andy Dalton is moving forward as the team’s first-team quarterback.
“We’re going to rely on our coaches — Jim Caldwell, Frank Reich, Thomas Brown — to decide when it’s right,” Fitterer said according to Pro Football Talk. “We don’t have a timeline. We’re not saying, ‘Hey, this guy’s gonna start the first game or we’re not going to play him at all this year.’ When the time is right or we felt like he’s got enough of a mastery of the offense where he can go out and operate this and be successful, that’s when he’ll be out there.
“We went out and signed Andy Dalton for a reason. He played as a rookie. He’s got a lot of experience. He understands his role and he can play good football. If Andy’s the guy to start the season, and he’s the starter right now heading into the season, then he’ll be the guy. When Bryce is ready or Matt Corral is ready whoever it may be, that’ll be the time they go in. We say it’s open competition, but Frank did say, ‘Hey, Andy’s he’s our guy right now. He’ll walk into the season as the starter and then as you know, the young guys compete underneath him, then they’ll go in when they’re ready.”
We’ll have to see if that plan changes.
