How Panthers’ 2026 Season Could Blow Up in Bryce Young’s Face

There’s no doubt that Carolina Panthers’ quarterback Bryce Young has made strides in numerous areas under head coach Dave Canales these past two years. And perhaps the best thing ever happened to the first pick in the 2023 NFL draft was being benched by his new head coach just two games into his second season.

Bryce Young 2024 — Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Young wound up getting the job back in Week 8 of 2024 when veteran Andy Dalton suffered a thumb injury in a car accident. With the exception of one game this past season (Week 8 vs. the Bills), the former University of Alabama signal-caller has been the team’s starting quarterback.

Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports put together a best-case, worst-case scenario for each of the NFL’s 32 clubs for the 2026 season. In the case of the former, Canales’s team repeats as NFC South champions, finishes with a winning record for the first time since 2017, and Young continues to progress. Then there’s the other side of the coin.

Panthers’ QB Bryce Young needs to build on a promising third season

Young and Canales — Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

“Young regresses from his career-best season in 2025,” said Sullivan, “That leads to another sub-.500 season for Carolina and, this time, others in the division don't allow the Panthers to sneak into the playoffs or win the NFC South. To make matters even more dire, they are firmly on the hunt for a new quarterback next offseason.”

As a reminder, the Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Atlanta Falcons all finished with 8-9 records in 2025. Carolina owned a combined 3-1 record vs. the Falcons (2-0) and Bucs (1-1). Hence, they were awarded their first division title since the franchise’s Super Bowl 50 campaign in 2015.

Consistent play has been an issue for Carolina’s Bryce Young

Bryce Young 21/40 288 Total YDS, 2 Total TDs, 1 INT vs LAR in 2025 Wildcard Game Yesterday.

Bryce Young's playoff debut.pic.twitter.com/sgcVdYReIg https://t.co/4Q5NM5hKLD
— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) January 11, 2026

Young comes off a season in which he connected on 63.6 percent of his throws for 3,011 yards and 23 touchdowns. All are personal bests. He also showed a penchant for second-half heroics. Unfortunately, inconsistency can best sum up his performance in 2025. Those 23 TD passes, as well as 216 yards rushing and a pair of scores, were a bit offset by 11 interceptions and four lost fumbles.

While he threw for 264 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score in the club’s heartbreaking 34-31 loss to the Rams in the wild card round, he also served up a first-quarter interception that set up the first touchdown of the day for Sean McVay’s team.

Panthers’ offense will have numerous changes in 2026

There will be changes up front for the Carolina offense. Free agent pickup Rasheed Walker (Packers) appears to have the edge over rookie Monroe Freeling for the left tackle job as the team looks to replace on-the-mend starter Ikem Ekwonu.

There also figures to be a training camp battle at center between newcomer Luke Fortner (Saints) and 2026 fifth-round pick Sam Hecht (Kansas State). There’s also a new play-caller as offensive coordinator Brad Idzik was given those duties by Canales.

Young has an emerging wide receiving duo in 2025 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker. Despite the free agent departure of Rico Dowdle, Chuba Hubbard returns as the main threat out of the backfield. While there are certainly a lot of positives surrounding Canales’s club, the Panthers must get a more reliable performance from their three-year field general on a game-to-game basis.

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