The Carolina Panthers have made one of the worst trade-ups in the draft in NFL history. While there may be other trades that fans could bring up to compete with this one as the worst ever, it is really hard to find a worse trade in the history of the NFL.
Carolina Panthers Bench Bryce Young After 18 Games
It is official now that Bryce Young has been benched for Andy Dalton after two games this season, and 18 games total as the starter. It is truly shocking that they benched the No. 1 overall pick so early when you consider what the organization gave up to get him on the team.
While fans were all in agreement over the benching of the former Heisman winner, the benching of Young stamps the worst trade in the history of the league. In hindsight, it is hard to even understand how this trade went down. Let’s take a look at the disastrous trade again after the benching of Young:
Per Adam Schefter of ESPN:
Carolina’s 2025 second-round pick still is going to Chicago as the final piece of the Bryce Young trade, which went like this:
Bears received: WR DJ Moore, 2023 first-round pick (OT Darnell Wright), 2023 second-round pick (CB Tyrique Stevenson), 2024 first-round pick (QB Caleb Williams), 2025 second-round pick
Panthers received: 2023 No. 1 pick (Bryce Young)
When looking at this trade, every single player the Chicago Bears got is better than Young, but that doesn’t scratch the surface of how bad of a trade this was.
We will wait and see what Caleb Williams will look like over the next few years, but it already seems like Caleb will be a starter in this league for many years to come.
Not only did they trade away the stars mentioned in the trade, but they also passed on C.J. Stroud to draft Young. Stroud looks like a top 5 quarterback in the league after two games this season, and his rookie year in 2023, while Young has already been benched. Time will tell that this is one of the worst trades in the history of the sport.
NFL Fans Believe This is The Worst Trade In History
Here are the best fan reactions to one of the worst trades in recent memory:
A reminder of the Panthers and Bears trade 😬
Bears received:
– DJ Moore
– 2023 1st-rounder (Darnell Wright)
– 2023 2nd-rounder (Tyrique Stevenson)
– 2024 1st-rounder (Caleb Williams)
– 2025 2nd-rounderPanthers received:
– 2023 No. 1 pick (Bryce Young)pic.twitter.com/yf5iR3POjf— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) September 16, 2024
Well Bryce Young will not only go down as the biggest bust in NFL history but the trade to get him will always be known as the worst trade in NFL history. Tepper you’re a piece of shit owner who has done nothing but damage this team. End our suffering and sell the team.
— Chase Carver (@trucker389) September 15, 2024
17 months after a historic trade and being taken number one overall, Bryce Young is benched. Just incredible how quickly this situation has deteriorated. I hope Bryce can find a fresh start somewhere and rebuild his play/confidence https://t.co/9cZik3e25h
— Daniel Salib (@salibdaniel1) September 16, 2024
“Fleece of the century,” a user said.
“ARREST THEIR WHOLE FRONT OFFICE AND OWNERSHIP FOR MALPRACTICE,” another exclaimed.
“Would have been a great trade if they had drafted Stroud instead of Young,” a fan replied.
“How you tank a franchise without saying you are tanking a franchise.”
“I’d say Carolina fans should be storming their front office with pitchforks, but in this day and age, some crazy goof might do it. Still, [Expletive] Yikes,” another person commented.
“The Bears are still very amusingly inept most of the time, but it’s wild how much they took off of Carolina in this trade.”
