Panthers 'Don't Have a Timeline' for Bryce Young to Become QB1

Carolina is unsure who will start Week 1 at quarterback.

Bryce Young will be the starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, but it may not happen right away. Andy Dalton has played a lot of football in his career and can hold down the fort until the rookie is ready to take over the reins of the offense.

Head coach Frank Reich is in no rush to move Young into the QB1 spot on the depth chart and said exactly that the night the team selected him with the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

"You know Scott [Fitterer] and I have talked about this. Right now he will come in and he’ll have to earn it. Obviously, that’s the way it should be. We’ll know when the right time is. That will be a decision that Scott and I and the coaching staff will continue to look at. But listen, he’s got enough going on right now. I just want him to come in and learn the offense and not have to worry about stepping into the limelight. Just come in learn the offense, get to know these guys. When we step out onto the field the first time, he’ll be in that number two spot and then we’ll just progress from there at the right time and we’ll know when that time is."

Panthers GM Scott Fitterer echoed similar thoughts on the handling of the starting quarterback situation in a recent interview with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports.

“We’re going to rely on our coaches — Jim Caldwell, Frank Reich, Thomas Brown — to decide when it’s right. We don’t have a timeline. We’re not saying, ‘Hey, this guy’s gonna start the first game or we’re not going to play him at all this year.’ When the time is right or we felt like he’s got enough of a mastery of the offense where he can go out and operate this and be successful, that’s when he’ll be out there.

“We went out and signed Andy Dalton for a reason. He played as a rookie. He’s got a lot of experience. He understands his role and he can play good football. If Andy’s the guy to start the season, and he’s the starter right now heading into the season, then he’ll be the guy. When Bryce is ready or Matt Corral is ready whoever it may be, that’ll be the time they go in. We say it’s open competition, but Frank did say, ‘Hey, Andy’s he’s our guy right now. He’ll walk into the season as the starter and then as you know, the young guys compete underneath him, then they’ll go in when they’re ready.”

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