Batted Balls at Minicamp Not a Concern for Frank Reich

At some point, this topic of batted balls was going to pop up with Bryce Young. His size is really the only concern when it comes to how much success he'll have in the NFL and some feared that he would have trouble seeing the field and oftentimes, have passes knocked down at the line of scrimmage.

Throughout OTAs and minicamp, there have been a few batted passes, one of which happened in an open practice a couple of weeks back where PSL owners got to sit in the stands at Bank of America Stadium. A video of one of those passes quickly made its rounds on social media, causing a portion of the fanbase to grow concerned with the rookie quarterback.

Bryce Young pass batted down by Shy Tuttle pic.twitter.com/boGitMmbkT
— Panthers On Tap (@PanthersOnTap) May 25, 2023

It happened again during Tuesday's practice and head coach Frank Reich was asked afterward if it has become a concern of his.

"No, it really doesn't. I actually thought we would have seen a whole lot more balls batted down because we're not going live and we're telling them not to hit the quarterback," Reich stated. "So the defensive line, they rush and then they pull off and more guys are standing there with their hands up. So to be quite honest, I expected a whole lot more balls batted down from all the quarterbacks. I didn't think much about it."

To get a better understanding of what Reich is saying, here's a screenshot from a video the Panthers posted of Shy Tuttle literally standing straight up with his hand in the air.

Even prior to the draft, GM Scott Fitterer pointed out that batted down passes didn't show up on Young's college tape. "I'll say this, I think when Russell Wilson came out he had three balls batted down his senior year. Bryce had two. If you're talking just about Bryce, this doesn't seem to be an issue. When you grow up a shorter quarterback, you learn how to evolve your game and adapt and see the field. And he's done that."

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