Panthers are Mostly Right to Wait on Extending Bryce Young Until Next Offseason

The Panthers won't sign Bryce Young until after the season, which is more or less the right move. Mostly.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) during pregame warm ups before the NFC Wild Card Round game | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

A new report suggests that the Carolina Panthers won't extend Bryce Young this offseason. They will wait to do so until at least the conclusion of the 2026 season, so they have another year of the Young experience to react to.

The Panthers are not expected to extend Bryce Young before the 2026 season, per @josephperson pic.twitter.com/i1nhAcPrKM

— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) May 17, 2026

This report has been attributed to Joe Person of The Athletic, but we couldn't find any original comment from Person that corroborates this. That means it's probably not a real report, but that doesn't mean it's incorrect.

The Panthers are highly unlikely to extend Young now. If they were going to, they likely would've before or during their free agency frenzy so they could truly know what the books will look like down the road.

GM Dan Morgan keeps saying they'll get it done when the time is right if they're going to do, which all but guarantees another year of waiting. The extension probably isn't line this offseason, report or not. But is that the right move?

The Panthers are right to wait on Bryce Young's extension, but there's a catch

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) reacts in the fourth quarter in an NFC Wild Card Round game | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The Panthers could extend Bryce Young now, but they're not going to. That would've been done by now if it were going to happen this offseason. And while he's regressed and Young has improved, the lack of a C.J. Stroud extension makes a Young one much less likely now.

Is that a good idea? If the Panthers wait and Young does improve like they and most analysts expect him to continue doing, then his price will undoubtedly rise. It'll cost them probably 10s of millions to wait it out.

But there's simply too much risk to do it now. Even at a modest price, a quarterback whose career year involved just over 3,000 passing yards and 23 touchdowns still carries major risk. The Panthers rightfully believe in him, but they can't commit to that level of annual production just yet, even at a discount.

In a perfect world, the Panthers would extend Young now for around $30 million, capitalizing on his inconsistency thus far and the overall lack of production. Then, he'd continue his upward growth and turn into an absolute steal. He'd be worth over $40 million but cost significantly less than that.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) rushes the ball against Los Angeles Rams linebacker Nate Landman | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

However, it's not a perfect world, and while we fully expect year four to be pretty solid, we can't act like that's a guarantee. Year four leaps are rare, although Young's situation is pretty unique since he's on his second coach already (and third play-caller) and was benched for half a season.

The Panthers are right to play it safe and wait it out, but it almost certainly will cost them. With an improved roster around him, he should play better and drive that price up. What could've been a bargain won't be simply because they had no other choice but to be patient.