Why the Panthers Passing on a Bryce Young Extension Might Have Been a Bad Move

Editor’s note: This is excerpted from Albert Breer’s takeaways of Sept. 21, 2026.

Don’t look now, but Bryce Young has been outstanding

No, the Panthers aren’t 2-0, but Young has played well enough to get them there—and in a high-pressure situation.

Carolina passed on signing the 25-year-old to a contract extension in the first offseason he was eligible for one, and that has typically been a precarious position for any young quarterback. From the 10 draft classes before Young’s (2013 to ’22), 13 first-round quarterbacks got blockbuster second contracts. Ten of them came after three years. Only Daniel Jones and Lamar Jackson played out the fourth year and then got a deal, while Jordan Love did a Band-Aid extension after his third year, and then signed a bigger deal after that.

And yet, so far, so good. Young had passer ratings topping 110 in last week’s 59–37 loss to the Bears and this week’s 34–3 win over the Falcons; through two games, he has connected on 63% of his throws for 648 yards, six touchdowns and one interception.

“It’s no surprise at all because of the games he’s had over the last couple of years, where when he puts the whole game plan together and has that understanding and ownership and the playcaller’s intent, we’ve had amazing performances,” Carolina coach Dave Canales told me postgame. “But it’s the consistency of how it’s showing up now. And then I think the biggest thing to talk about is his ownership of what we’re doing.

Bryce Young today

267 Pass Yards
3 Pass TD
0 INT
128.1 Pass Ratingpic.twitter.com/fOAy9DobD8
— PFF (@PFF) September 20, 2026

“And what I’ve seen from him throughout this [summer] is a lot of conversations on the side with T-Mac [Tetairoa McMillan], with [Jalen] Coker, with Xavier [Legette]. Darren [Waller] shows up, Tommy [Tremble], the tight ends, the backs. It’s just becoming his because I see him fine-tuning what our concepts really are.”

And the challenge that Canales says he has always laid out for his quarterbacks—“Hey, make sure you grab those guys on the side”—is one that Young has taken to heart.

It showed up, Canales added, on both of Waller’s touchdowns on Sunday. Signed in mid-August, Young has been at work with his new tight end, and the two spent time with each other before and after offensive periods at practice last week. Young explained to Waller what leverage the Atlanta defense would deploy, and the two discussed how and when Waller would break it—which Canales said Waller was able to put to use Sunday.

So that, really, is what Young is caught up in now.

As for the contract …

“Bryce has a lot of joy in his face, a lot of joy in the process, in our offense as we continue to grow it and evolve it,” Canales said. “And I see him really just enjoying this moment with his teammates and leading. And he’s done that the entire time, whether he was playing or not. He’s never backed away from standing in front, high-fiving the guys coming into the locker room or coming off the field into the tunnel. He’s right there in the front. He wants them to know, I’m here, we’re all working on this together. And he’s continuing to lead that way.

“I have not seen a change in Bryce.”

Even if, statistically anyway, there seems to be one happening with him.

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