Big Blue View staff offers their opinions
The New York Giants could be in the market for a long-term replacement for Daniel Jones at quarterback after this season. With the Carolina Panthers having benched 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young already, an intriguing option could now be available on the trade market at a vastly discounted price.
Should the Giants trade for Young? We put the question to our Big Blue View writers this week in the form of a round table. Here is what they said. Vote in the poll at the end of the post to let us know what you think.
Chris Pflum
Okay, I’ll expand a bit.
I did like Bryce Young coming out of Alabama and there have been flashes of his upside at Carolina. However, those flashes have been mired in a whole lot of league-worst play. I do still believe that he has higher upside than either Drew Lock or Tommy DeVito, and if the Giants could get him for a late-round pick… Maybe.
Perhaps he could become the player he was at Alabama if he actually got to sit and learn in a nurturing environment instead of one of the most turbulent franchises in the NFL.
Realistically, however, if the Panthers are ready to move on from Young, they’ll want to recoup as much of their investment in him as they can. The Giants shouldn’t use any resources to acquire Young that they could put into improving their roster. That could be a cornerback if Daniel Jones continues to be the Giants’ Guy going forward, or if they draft a quarterback, get one who hasn’t already been one of the worst in the NFL.
Nick Falato
From a salvaging talent standpoint, the Giants should roll the dice on a near-consensus top pick in the draft just over a year ago. Young’s confidence is shot, and he desperately needs a change of scenery — the Panthers may be the most dysfunctional organization in the NFL. New York does not have a long-term plan at quarterback. The Giants can release Daniel Jones after the 2024 season and save $9.3 million on their cap while eating $22.2 million. However, if they release him post-June first, they save $ 30.5 million on the cap and split the dead cap between 2025 and 2026 ($ 11.1 million each).
I’m not even the biggest believer in Young’s skill set, due to his size. However, he was a smart quarterback at Alabama with improvisation skills and a solid arm. He would cost a late-round pick or possibly even a swap. Carolina has lost all leverage on the asset. If the organization does decide to cut the cord, it would cost a day three swap or just a day three pick, depending on the demand, of course.
There is one big problem, though: his contract. Young was the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. He signed a four-year, $38-million contract with $24.6 million allocated as a signing bonus. The Giants would have to absorb around $10 million over two years for Young, and Carolina would eat a $6.2 million dead cap this season and a $12.3 million next year, saving $2.5 million on the cap in 2024.
I’m interested in adding Young if the Giants can make it work financially and if it’s as cheap—from a compensation perspective—as I suggested above. Once they part ways with Jones’ contract, the Giants will have cap space in 2025. The addition of Young would NOT preclude them from selecting a quarterback in the draft if they loved someone, nor would it prevent them from pursuing quarterbacks in another fashion. This would be similar to what the Pittsburgh Steelers did with Justin Fields. So, yes, I’m interested.
Tony DelGenio
Some Giants fans may disagree, but Carolina is the worst organization in the NFL. They’ve done nothing to help Bryce Young succeed. Young has talent, but also limitations. He has an adequate arm but is better on-schedule than off-schedule, and his accuracy is good but not elite. Sounds like Daniel Jones but eight inches shorter, but Young had much more success, exhibited more creativity, and displayed more pocket presence and ability to read defenses in college. The Giants wouldn’t be bringing him in to replace Jones (now) but to be a backup who might develop into what he was thought to be capable of. Young’s height is a disadvantage, but Kyler Murray manages to make it work. Malik Willis was obtained by Green Bay for a seventh-round pick; he just helped them win a game. Zach Wilson was acquired by Denver for a seventh-sixth-round pick swap. Justin Fields was dealt to Pittsburgh for a conditional sixth that could become a fourth. Young has more potential than either backup quarterback the Giants have now, and if he can be had for a similarly low price, it’s worth the gamble since late-round picks only rarely deliver. Carolina will try to get a lot more but they have no leverage.
There’s just one problem. Young’s $38M contract was fully guaranteed. $24.6M was paid as a signing bonus and is on the Panthers’ books; much of the rest is still to be paid through 2026. Is an approximately $10M commitment against the salary cap over two years to a QB like this worth the gamble for the Giants? Yes.
David Hartman
I may be an outlier here but honestly I would stay away. I don’t think he’s the Giants’ long-term answer at quarterback, and I’m not sure about a reclamation project for this roster or with this coaching staff either.
I wasn’t a believer in Young coming out of college and the main issue for me was and is his size. No QB of his height-weight stature has ever been taken in the first round much less with the first pick. Young’s size isn’t the only reason he has struggled but I’ve watched enough of their games to see that seeing over the line, seeing passing lanes, and taking on contact are issues. Kyler Murray is roughly the same height as Young but he’s thicker and his superb mobility allows him to extend plays (or make positive plays running) and find passing lanes – much like Russell Wilson when he was younger. I’m also at this point a little dubious of Alabama quarterbacks in general – none of Tua, Mac Jones, or Young has lived up to his draft slot at this point — which lends credence to the idea that the offensive line, wide receiver and other outstanding talent at Alabama over the last decade or so has made evaluations of their QBs harder to trust. Young was probably overrated as a prospect coming out of that program.
If the Giants could get Young at low cost, then sure, why not consider it. But I don’t think he has it. He hasn’t gotten a fair shake or chance to succeed in Carolina, and they’ve probably wrecked his conference, but the fact is that roughly half of first round quarterbacks don’t make it as NFL starters and sadly, I think Young will fall into that bucket. I like him and hope he proves me wrong — on another team.
Valentine’s View
This is a straightforward question with a complicated answer.
The Giants are probably going to be looking for a new long-term answer at quarterback after this season. On its face, taking a flier on a former No. 1 overall pick who is still just 23 years old would seem like a good gamble. Provided, of course, the price isn’t high — probably no more than a late Day 3 draft pick.
We are, after all, watching former highly-drafted quarterbacks who flopped earlier early in their careers like Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, and Justin Fields some levels of success. Talented quarterbacks who began their careers in bad circumstances can, sometimes, be resuscitated.
Is Young one of those players? Maybe, but there are questions. He is a limited athlete. He is 5-foot-10 and, while listed at 204 pounds, is probably realistically 185. That is TINY for an NFL quarterback. Players like Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson are short, but also solidly built. Young is short, and small. By NFL standards, he is a stick figure.
He is smart and, at least collegiately, was exceptionally accurate. Still, his arm strength isn’t great and in an era of speedy or elusive quarterbacks who are dangerous with the ball once they escape the pocket Young is not one of those guys.
There is, honestly, a ceiling with Young even if you get him playing well again. He needs the perfect scheme, the right offensive line, the right weapons. Do Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll like him enough to try and build those things around him? I don’t know.
For me, if I am starting over at quarterback I want a clean prospect who is a blank canvas I can work with from the beginning — not one I have to put back together after another organization has broken him. Plus, I want the full length of his rookie contract.
Speaking of that contract, I don’t understand pointing to Young’s contract as a problem in thinking about acquiring him. He is owed $10.1 in base salary for 2025 and 2026, and less than a million dollars for the remainder of this year. That, really, is nothing for a quarterback. Drew Lock is making $5 million this season, and many backup quarterbacks make more money than that.
I could understand a flier on Young if Schoen and Daboll were high enough on him in their pre-draft evaluations. It would not, though, be my choice.
Trading for Young is a pass for me.
