It’s been a rough week for second-year quarterback Bryce Young. Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales benched him in favor of Andy Dalton after a terrible start to his sophomore season. To Young’s credit, he handled it as well as he could in the eyes of the public. He reportedly wasn’t happy with the decision behind the scenes, but he stuck to his positive message and team spirit with reporters and fans.

When Young spoke to the media on Thursday before Carolina’s next game against the Las Vegas Raiders, he continued to do just that. He also revealed that he was surprised when he was benched – and that it wasn’t pretty.

“I didn’t necessarily expect that,” Young said of being subbed out. “And obviously it wasn’t great to hear that either. But I respect Coach Canales. I respect the organization. Obviously they made a decision and it’s up to me to put them in that situation. Right now, that’s the situation it is.”

Young has drawn a tough deal, even if his play necessitated the move. It’s not often that a top draft pick is benched so early in his second season, especially at quarterback, and Young has physically felt the brunt of his organization’s mistakes over the past 18 games. There have been few bright spots in his NFL career so far, and now he’s lost his job.

It’s not over yet. Not by a long shot. But Young is in for a really tough time.