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Steady Improvement is Not Enough for Panthers QB Bryce Young

Dave Canales’s starting quarterback has come a long way since his rookie campaign. But Bryce Young may have to make major strides instead of baby steps in 2026.
Russell Baxter|
Jun 9, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) looks for his receiver during the first day of mini camp at Bank of America Stadium practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
Jun 9, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) looks for his receiver during the first day of mini camp at Bank of America Stadium practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Carolina Panthers

Training camp is now underway for all 32 teams. The Carolina Panthers are just over a week away from opening the league’s preseason schedule with a clash vs. the Arizona Cardinals in Canton, Ohio.

Dave Canales’s club is looking to build on last season’s playoff appearance, the first by the franchise since 2017. The Panthers captured the NFC South with an 8-9 record, then suffered a heartbreaking 34-31 setback to the visiting Los Angles Rams in the wild card round.

Carolina’s Bryce Young is one of several QBs to keep an eye on

Bryce Young and Baker Mayfield
USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

NFL writer Henry McKenna of Fox Sports claims there are seven NFL quarterbacks whose status for 2027 is somewhat questionable. Five of the seven (Carolina’s Bryce Young, Houston’s C.J. Stroud, Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield, Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson, and Minnesota’s Kyler Murray) are former first-round picks, three of those (Young, Mayfield and Murray) former first overall selections. Rounding out the somewhat-surprising list is second-year pro Shedeur Sanders (Browns), and Super Bowl LIX champion and game MVP Jalen Hurts (Eagles).

Obviously, each of these players have their own unique situation. Murray is with a new team after seven seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, while Watson—who missed all of the 2025 season—is still looking to resurrect his career after being obtained from the Texans via trade in 2022.

Panthers’ QB Bryce Young has come a long way after a rough start

The focal point here is Young, who comes off a season in which he set career-bests for passing yards (3,011) and TD passes (23). However, he turned over the ball a combined 16 times in his 17 total outings. That included a first-quarter interception in the postseason loss to Sean McVay’s club. Even with the positives, McKenna makes a very key point.

“The Panthers announced they were picking up Young’s fifth-year option, but that’s not exactly a commitment that he’ll be their QB next year. There has been an enormous amount of conversation about next year’s crop of QB draft prospects, and so it’s easy to imagine the Panthers looking to upgrade if Young can’t continue to ascend.”

The first overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft suffered though a rough debut in Charlotte. Two games into 2024, Young was benched by Canales. In his first 18 career outings, all of those starts, he threw for a combined 3,122 yards, 11 touchdowns and 13 picks. He fumbled 11 times, losing six of those drops, was sacked 68 times and ran for one score.

There’s been quite the turnaround. In his last 29 appearances (27 starts), including playoffs, Young has totaled 5,433 yards through the air. He’s thrown 39 TD passes compared to only 18 interceptions. He’s lost only 6-of-12 fumbles, absorbed just 52 sacks, and rushed for eight touchdowns. Still, there has been some ups and downs, especially early in games, and the promising signal-caller must be much more consistent.

What does the future hold for QB Bryce Young?

Bryce Young and Dave Canales
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“Young has trended upward in a linear-enough fashion in his first three NFL seasons,” added McKenna, “But if his 2026 season doesn’t look better than last year, he might be searching for a new team next year.”

The latter statement may be a bit strong, but the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner may need to make significant progress if a long-term commitment and bigger pay day is in his future.

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Russell Baxter
RUSSELL BAXTER

Russell S. Baxter has been writing and researching the game of football for more than 40 years, and on numerous platforms. That includes television, as he spent more than two decades at ESPN, and was part of shows that garnered five Emmy Awards. He also spent the 2015 NFL season with Thursday Night Football on CBS/NFLN.

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