The Carolina Panthers are benching Bryce Young after just two games this season. He hadn’t expected it, as the young NFL quarterback now made clear.

The Carolina Panthers have made a real mess of the start to the NFL season with 0-2, the defeats against the New Orleans Saints (10-47) and the Los Angeles Chargers (3-26) were hefty.

For quarterback Bryce Young, last year’s first pick in the draft, it’s now off to the bench for the time being. Veteran Andy Dalton will take over for him in week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The decision of head coach Dave Canales came as a surprise to Young, as he made clear to US media on Thursday. However, he also showed self-reflection and expressed understanding.

“I didn’t necessarily expect that. Of course it wasn’t nice to hear something like that, but I respect coach Canales and the organization. They made the decision. Right now, the situation is what it is. I have to do everything I can to help the team wherever I can,” the playmaker is quoted as saying by CBS Sports, among others.

Panthers quarterback Young on performance: ”We had a lot of games in which I wasn’t good enough “

Young has no doubt that he himself played a role in his demotion to the backup role: “At the end of the day, we had a lot of drives, a lot of games where I wasn’t good enough. I look in the mirror and take responsibility for that. Most of the time, every snap ended up in my hands and I didn’t do enough with it at the end of the day.”

While the 23-year-old still had to struggle with miserable circumstances last season, the Panthers certainly dug into their pockets during the offseason to make life easier for their quarterback.

Both the offensive line and the weapons arsenal were strengthened, but so far this has yielded little. In the first two NFL matchdays, Young only managed 245 passing yards, a completion percentage of around 55 percent, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns.

Now he wants to focus on helping the team in his new position. The franchise recently ruled out a trade. “The big picture is out of my hands. It’s in God’s hands. Organizational things are up to the people upstairs. I’m very grateful to be part of this team, this organization. I want to help the team any way I can and that’s what I’m focusing on,” Young said.