Bryce Young 'attracting trade interest from several NFL teams' - despite being dropped by the Panthers after awful start to the season

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young is attracting trade interest from several NFL teams, according to ESPN 's Adam Schefter.

Despite his early struggles, dealing with injuries, and getting benched after an 0-2 start, Young has entered several teams' trading radars.

According to ESPN's sources, the Panthers have been contacted by teams about Young. However, coach Dave Canales has no intentions of trading the former No 1 overall pick.

While the Panthers plan to keep Young around as a backup to Andy Dalton for now, sources around the NFL believe it won't be long until they complete a deal. Sources suggest that Young will remain in Charlotte through the offseason at the very least.

After Young was benched on Monday, the Panthers will likely turn to him down the line depending on how the next few weeks play out, per ESPN.

The Panthers are 2-16 with the former No 1 overall pick as their starter, the worst record through 18 games of any quarterback selected with the top pick in the Super Bowl era.

The former Heisman winner has a 9.1 Total QBR this season, one of the worst in NFL history for consecutive games.

On Thursday, Young admitted that he was surprised to be benched. However, he acknowledged that there was 'A long list of things that I wish was better and I'll continue to work and grow and improve and be better at.'

When asked about trading Young on Wednesday, Canales said a trade was 'not something we're really considering,' without hesitation.

While his early struggles may have dimmed his light, Young could still bring some trade value to the Panthers. However, it would likely be far short of what Carolina traded to Chicago to move up in last year's draft.

Should he get traded, Young would join a handful of first-round quarterbacks to get traded in recent years. Last offseason, the Jets traded Zach Wilson (No 2 overall) to the Broncos, the Bears traded Justin Fields (No 11) to the Steelers, and the Patriots traded Mac Jones (No 15) to the Jaguars.

Panthers running back Miles Sanders backed up Young amid the adversity, saying 'it's definitely not over ' for the second-year star. Wide receiver Adam Thielen added he is 'very excited for [Young's] future.'

'Watching him practice today, the throws he was making, his confidence - you know he can do this at a high level,' Thielen said. 'Sometimes it's not all that bad to just take a step back and breathe.'

The Panthers will face the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.