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It hasn't even been two years since the Carolina Panthers made an aggressive move to trade up in the 2023 NFL Draft in order to select Alabama quarterback Bryce Young with the 1st overall pick, and the franchise has already been through the ringer with the young QB. Young had a disastrous rookie season, was benched early in is second year, and then returned to the lineup halfway through the season and has had something resembling a career rebirth.
Over the last four weeks, since Young retained the QB1 job from veteran Andy Dalton, the 23-year-old signal-caller has strung together four of the best games of his young career. In those four starts, the Panthers are 2-2, and Young has completed 62 percent of his passes for 764 yards, 5 touchdowns and just 3 interceptions.
Apparently, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, this four game sample size has been good enough for the Panthers to decide that they're ready to give Young another season to develop prove he can be a franchise cornerstone.
“They were 0-2, benched Bryce Young. The Carolina Panthers did, and I think everyone in the world assumed, ‘Well, that’s over.’ Not over,” Rapoport said. “In fact, now that he is back in the line and has gone 2-2, and really from my understanding, gone a long way in showing this Panthers organization why they took him No. 1 overall.”
Rapoport went on to explain what the Panthers have seen from Young over the last month.
“He’s getting in and out of the huddle better. He is diagnosing defenses better. And simply, he is playing better as far as the future goes. From what I understand, do not expect the Carolina Panthers to draft a quarterback early next year. It does seem if Bryce Young [continues] to progress as he’s been, that he has earned the opportunity to be their starter next year.”
Panthers, Bryce Young to continue partnership into 2025 season
In addition to Young's improvement, there are other factors that contribute to this decision as well, like a relatively volatile group of quarterbacks who are expected to be among the best in the class of 2025, and the fact that the Panthers may end up picking outside of the top five. There is a logjam of 12 teams between 2 and 4 wins right now, and the Panthers are right in the middle of the pack and playing relatively well. They might not even be in a position to select one of the top quarterbacks on their board.
But for now, that might not be the worst case scenario. The Panthers have plenty of needs all over the roster, and head coach Dave Canales has a renewed faith in his second-year QB.
“I’m just proud of Bryce, the way he’s handled all this and the way that he’s progressed on a weekly basis,” Canales said earlier in the week, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. “Each week there’s been improvement in the things that he’s doing. As the quarterback, to have a moment in the locker room where you can share your heart, you can share where you’re at with all of it. I think it’s important that the guys continue to connect that way, and the guys responded positively.”
