By Rob Maaddi
Bryce Young has been benched by the Carolina Panthers after 18 starts.
It’s not the fastest hook for a No. 1 overall pick.
John Elway was replaced by veteran QB Steve DeBerg in his first two career starts with the Denver Broncos in 1983, and he was eventually benched after five games. Elway returned to the starting lineup in Week 11 and went on to have a Hall of Fame career, leading the Broncos to consecutive Super Bowl victories in his final two seasons in the NFL.
Overall, 36 quarterbacks have been selected No. 1 overall in the history of the NFL draft, including 28 in the Super Bowl era.
Here are five other quarterbacks picked first overall and when they were benched:
Terry Bradshaw
After tossing 12 interceptions and only two touchdowns in his first seven starts for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1970, Bradshaw was benched for Terry Hanratty. Bradshaw started one more game that season but appeared in six more games. He became the full-time starter in 1971 but lost his job to Joe Gilliam in 1974 before taking it back.
Bradshaw would go on to help lead the Steelers to four Super Bowl titles and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
Troy Aikman
Selected first by the Dallas Cowboys in 1989, Aikman was 0-11 as a rookie starter for Jimmy Johnson’s 1-15 team. He started 15 games his sophomore season and was 7-5 in 1991 before an injury knocked him out for the final four games. Steve Beuerlein led the Cowboys to four straight wins and Johnson stuck with him for the playoffs even though Aikman was healthy and ready to go. Aikman started every game in 1992 and led the Cowboys to the first of three Super Bowls he’d win.
Jameis Winston
Wasn’t benched by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers until Week 9 of his fourth season in 2018. Winston then came off the bench to replace Ryan Fitzpatrick two weeks later and started the rest of that season. He started every game in 2019, throwing for 5,109 yards, 33 TDs and 30 picks in Bruce Arians’ first season in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers signed Tom Brady in 2020 and Winston went to New Orleans.
JaMarcus Russell
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Earned his first start for the Raiders in the final game of his rookie season in 2007. Russell then started 15 games the following year and the first nine games in 2009 before he was benched permanently in Week 11. Russell threw 41 more passes in relief that season and never played again in the NFL.
Tim Couch
Picked by the Cleveland Browns ahead of Donovan McNabb and Daunte Culpepper in 1999, Couch became the starter in Week 2 as a rookie. He stayed in the lineup and would help the Browns reach the playoffs in his fourth season, though he missed a wild-card loss to Pittsburgh because of an injury. Couch was benched for Kelly Holcomb in 2003 and played his last game that season.
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