Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper tried to turn things around this year after a 2022 season in which he fired head coach Matt Rhule and had a revolving door at the quarterback position. Tepper hired former Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich to be his sideline boss and watched his team trade up for the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NFL Draft, ultimately to select Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. This somehow resulted in the Panthers having an even worse season.
The Panthers lost 17-10 to the Tennessee Titans, who were led by quarterback Will Levis, a quarterback out of Kentucky the team passed on in the draft. The offense for Carolina failed to do anything, picking up just 258 yards on 67 plays. Young threw for 194 yards while completing 18-of-31 pass attempts, all while getting sacked four times for a loss of 32 yards.
Carolina is now 1-10 on the year, firmly seated in last place in the NFL. To make matters worse, the Panthers would have held the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft...had they not traded it to the Chicago Bears to trade up for Young. So, how is Tepper reacting to this season? Well, not great, according to Sheena Quick of FOX Sports Radio 1340.
David Tepper furiously leaves locker room after Panthers fall to 1-10 on season
Charging out of a locker room while shaking his head and dropping an F-bomb. Yeah, we'd say Tepper isn't having a great time.
Young hasn't made the strides like the Panthers expected him to. After all, he did win the Heisman Trophy back in 2021. But he's part of an offense that traded away its certified top wide receiver in DJ Moore to facilitate the trade for the No. 1 pick and an offensive line that is far from great.
What makes this lackluster season from the Panthers sting that much worse is that the team passed on C.J. Stroud, who is leading the Houston Texans to victories and in playoff contention in a year that was supposed to be a rebuild. Anthony Richardson was another option for the Panthers, and he showed promise early on with the Indianapolis Colts before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.
Entering this game, Young threw for 1,683 yards, nine touchdowns, and eight interceptions while completing 62.1 percent of his passes.
As for Reich, the offense hasn't been clicking like Tepper and Panthers fans had expected. Reich started the year calling plays on offense before relinquishing them to coordinator Thomas Brown during their bye in Week 7. But Reich took them back ahead of Week 11. Despite the changes, the offense remained as stagnant as ever. With that, Reich's job security is in question, even after just one year in Carolina.
We'll see if Tepper makes any changes in the offseason to try to get the Panthers back on track. But after 12 weeks of the season, the Panthers owner is not happy.
