Bryce Young has received support from LeBron James after he was benched by the Carolina Panthers, with the NBA legend claiming that the decision is ‘not on Bryce’

LeBron James has sent an uplifting message to former No. 1 pick Bryce Young after the Carolina Panthers announced that they’re benching the second-year quarterback.

Young was selected first out of Alabama by the Panthers who traded with the Chicago Bears in order to receive the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. It hasn’t worked out for Young or the Panthers who are 2-16 with him as a starter, and the organization has now made the decision to play veteran Andy Dalton ahead of him after just two weeks of the new season.

The 23-year-old has thrown more interceptions (13) than touchdowns in his career (11) and was sacked 62 times last season, fumbling the ball on 11 occasions. After taking six sacks and throwing three interceptions in the opening two weeks of the current season the Panthers have acted, but James went out of his way to send support to the young quarterback.

“Bryce Young hold ya head Young (prince emoji)!! Rooting for you and know this ain’t on you! Continue to put the work in and it shall prevail,” James posted on X.

MARSHALL NEWHOUSE PREVIEWS MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL | GOJO AND GOLICclose

It’s a brutal situation for Young, who hasn’t benefitted from the fact that the No. 2 pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, C.J. Stroud, won Offensive Rookie of the Year after leading the Houston Texans to the playoffs and broke three rookie records along the way.

James isn’t alone in wanting to take the blame away from Young, as the greatest quarterback in NFL history, Tom Brady also feels as though the game has changed and there is too much pressure on rookies to become starting quarterbacks. Brady may have won a Super Bowl as a starter in his second season with the New England Patriots, but he was given responsibility straight away.

During his rookie season, Brady was 1-for-3 passing for just six yards after sitting behind Drew Bledsoe. Brady feels strongly about rookie quarterbacks needing to learn before being placed into the spotlight and said in a passionate speech during a live recording of “The Stephen A. Smith Show” earlier this year: “There used to be college programs. Now there are college teams.

“You’re no longer learning a program you’re learning a playbook. And the program is ultimately like at Michigan for me that was a pro-style program. For five years I got to learn how to drop back pass, to read defenses, to read coverages, to be coached. I had to learn from being the seventh quarterback on the depth chart to moving up to third, to ultimately being a starter.

The Carolina Panthers announced Monday that Andy Dalton will be the team’s starting quarterback moving forward ( 
Image:
Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
“I had to learn all those things in college. That was development. Then I went to New England and I was developed by Coach (Bill) Belichick and the offensive staff there. I didn’t start my first year I think it’s just a tragedy that we’re forcing these rookies to play early. But the reality is the only reason why they are is because we dumbed the game down which has allowed them to play.

“It used to be thought of at a higher level. We used to spend hours and hours in the offseason, in training camp, trying to be a little bit better the next year but I think what happens is it discourages the coaches from going to deep levels because they realize the players don’t have the opportunity to go to a deep level so they’re just going to teach them where they’re at.”

Brady was a sixth-round pick back in 2000 and played in just one game during his rookie year. He only started for the New England Patriots because of an injury to quarterback Drew Bledsoe, and he managed to win the Super Bowl that year. The Patriots, and Brady, never looked back.