Panthers Surprisingly Avoid Dubious QB List That Texans, Colts, Falcons Land On

The Panthers have finally graduated from a bad QB situation.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) and Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Historically, the Carolina Panthers have not had a good quarterback situation. Since Cam Newton was released, it's been bad, to put it mildly. Even with Bryce Young, it hasn't always been good, and the wider NFL media has often criticized team and player.

Yet, a new picture is being painted. Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report just put a list of the 10 worst QB situations. In the past, you could've made money betting the Panthers would be here. This time, they're not.

The teams that did make it in order:

1. New York Jets
2. Arizona Cardinals
3. Cleveland Browns
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
5. Miami Dolphins
6. Minnesota Vikings
7. Atlanta Falcons
8. Indianapolis Colts
9. Houston Texans
10. Miami Dolphins

The Panthers not being here is a huge win for their perception in the NFL media.

Panthers avoid bad QB list with surprising additions

C.J. Stroud (left) and Bryce Young (right) attend an NBA game | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

What's particularly interesting is to note that the Texans are here and the Panthers aren't. It's obvious the Panthers have a better QB situation than the Cardinals, Jets, Steelers, Dolphins, and others. The Texans are particularly interesting, though.

When the Panthers drafted Young over Stroud and the latter went on to dominate in 2023, it looked like a franchise-altering mistake. Now, three years later, while Stroud's career has still been better, he and the Texans are in a bad spot, according to this list, and the Panthers are not.

It's impossible to know why this is since Gagnon didn't say, but it's probably not because Kenny Pickett is a better backup QB than Davis Mills, who actually played well in relief of Stroud last year.

It's probably because Young is on the upswing, and Stroud is on the downswing. His level of play has dropped in the last two years, culminating in an awful playoff outing. Young's has improved year over year, and that culminated in a brilliant performance in the playoffs.

Panthers fans felt at the time that the debate over Young and Stroud was beginning to tilt in their favor. We wrote as much at the time, highlighting the recent trajectories of both players. There was admittedly some bias in that, but Gagnon doesn't have any affiliation with the Panthers.

Gagnon said this when explaining why the Texans' situation is not ideal, "C.J. Stroud's 2023 season was one of the best rookie campaigns in NFL history, but he has since fallen off a cliff. Stroud arguably hit rock bottom when he committed seven turnovers in two playoff games this past January."

The opposite, in more ways than one, is true of Young. His rookie season was among the worst in NFL history, but he's since improved and played well in the playoffs, hinting at the clutch prowess he's displayed in game-winning situations quite often.

As for the Falcons, many believed Michael Penix Jr. was a better option than Bryce Young. With Gagnon's list in mind, that's obviously not even close to being true. Tua Tagovailoa is a better second option than Kenny Pickett, but Young clears Penix by enough to avoid the list.

Some other interesting teams to note: the Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans, and Minnesota Vikings. The Colts have a former top-five pick and the most recent reclamation, Daniel Jones. Yet, Carolina's in better shape.

Cam Ward showed way more in his rookie year in an awful situation than Young did, but the Panthers are in better shape. We remember when preseason lists this time last year had JJ McCarthy above Young. Things have changed.

The Panthers appear to be finally getting a little more respect under center, and it speaks to Young's continued improvement that they're finally being left off of dubious lists like this.