What Dave Canales said about Bryce Young's concerning ankle injury

With the win over the New York Jets in the rearview, the Carolina Panthers can now look ahead to a precarious future. Not only do the Buffalo Bills loom, but Bryce Young's health is of concern now. After suffering an ankle injury in the third quarter, the third-year QB left and did not return. Andy Dalton came in and helped salt the game away at the end.

But moving forward, when the hapless Jets aren't the opponent, the Panthers will desperately need Young back and healthy. After the game, everyone wanted to know what the status of the quarterback was, and head coach Dave Canales addressed it.

Dave Canales reveals Bryce Young's status moving forward

Unfortunately, Bryce Young's status remains up in the air. Dave Canales was noncommittal about the injury, saying that they're evaluating Young right now and will continue to look at his right ankle. That isn't the worst news, but it's certainly far from ideal. He didn't really go into any specifics, which is not good. If they'd looked at Young and deemed that he wasn't in the worst shape, that might be the update here, but it's not.

Canales: Bryce Young hurt his ankle trying to avoid sack. pic.twitter.com/ws4oAYEkyT
— Joe Person (@josephperson) October 19, 2025

Young's missed one game due to injury in his NFL career, and it was also an ankle injury. Dalton made one spot start in his wake in 2023 in the early going, but other than that, Young has been the picture of health. This is the first actual concern he's had in some time. What Canales did say, that Young couldn't put weight on the ankle, is highly concerning.

Canales says Bryce wasn’t able to put weight on the ankle.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) October 19, 2025

If the Panthers do lose Bryce Young for some time, they do have a capable backup in Andy Dalton. Still, beating the Bills and maintaining this surprising momentum (the Panthers have won three in a row and are actually over .500) will need Young and not Dalton.

How does the #Panthers offense change if Andy Dalton plays vs Bryce Young? pic.twitter.com/SHOanamMzh
— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) October 19, 2025

However, as Canales pointed out, the formula for winning right now is to ride the run game, which the Panthers have done. Even though it was with lackluster efficiency, the Panthers allowed both Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle to handle the rock and get plenty of touches, so that won't change with or without Young next week.

Rico Dowdle said he talked to Bryce Young after the game and Bryce said he was going to be fine.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) October 19, 2025

Speaking of, Dowdle said he talked to his young quarterback, who said he was fine. Players saying that to teammates isn't all that encouraging, but that's Young's personal update.

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