Bryce Young Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

The Carolina Panthers decided to bench second-year quarterback Bryce Young earlier this year. But that didn’t mean the team wanted to get rid of him.

This week, Carolina Panthers General Manager Dan Morgan was asked whether or not the team considered trading Bryce Young after benching him for Andy Dalton earlier this season.

Morgan said the team “never opened that door.”

“Yeah, I think every week, you know, we’re assessing Bryce,” Morgan said according to the Carolina Panthers team website.

“We’re just seeing, taking it day by day, really just seeing him grow, seeing him develop, be under coach and work with him, learn under Andy [Dalton]. I think we do see him growing every day. We’re excited to work with him and keep working with him in the future. At the end of the day, we’ll have those conversations once the season ends and, we’ll see where we’re at.”

The Panthers will stick with Young as their starting quarterback for the third straight week after benching him earlier this year, but his long-term status is still a bit unknown.

Earlier this week, head coach Dave Canales resisted giving any long-term answer on his future with Carolina.

For now, however, the team’s final decision is that they will not be trading him.

We’ll have to see how he performs this week and beyond.

[Carolina Panthers]