Panthers HC Dave Canales 'confident' in Bryce Young despite lackluster preseason

The Carolina Panthers are not going to play their starters in the final preseason game this week. They got about four series on each side of the ball to prepare for the regular season, which is about four times as many as last preseason. Still, with how lackluster everyone's looked, it's fair to wonder if they'll be ready for Week 1.

Dave Canales isn't worried about that, particularly when it comes to QB Bryce Young. He pulled the starters ahead of a planned third series in Houston, but he's confident that the third-year QB is ready for Week 1 in a few weeks.

Dave Canales remains confident in Bryce Young ahead of regular season

Bryce Young and the rest of the offense have struggled a bit in preseason. It is hard to really get a rhythm with just two drives per game, but Young looked rough in Week 2 and had only one good drive in Week 1.

Dave Canales feels really ‘’confident’’ #Panthers Bryce Young is ready for the season. Young has had one touchdown drive on four possessions. The other three were three and out. pic.twitter.com/pyxT66uEsC
— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) August 18, 2025

Despite that, Dave Canales isn't wavering. "He's done a great job leading the team, pushing things forward," he said. "If we get a couple third downs, we extend the drive, can get more into the calls, I would love to have another red-zone shot to just polish off some of those things," the coach said.

But, he added, "I feel confident. I feel very confident about how we've loaded our guys, the exposure to different situations throughout our practices, in particular the joint practices, but in general in training camp."

So despite the lackluster performance and an overall limited number of reps, Canales feels good about his QB and many of his players. Young is just four for eight for 58 yards and a touchdown. His rating is 113.5, but that's carried by the one touchdown drive. He also had an interception called back due to a defensive holding call.

Still, it's just preseason and Young couldn't really get into a flow in any of the stunted outings because they were so short. That doesn't change how he has looked in practice and how Canales feels about his third-year quarterback.

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