Bryce Young‘s 2024 season did not start the way he or the Panthers wanted it to. He will remain atop Carolina’s quarterback depth chart for at least the rest of the season, though.

Young was benched in favor of Andy Dalton in Week 3, a move which put his Panthers future in doubt. Quarterbacks who lose their starting gig shortly after arriving in the draft do not have a long history of reclaiming it and remaining with their original team. Dalton suffering a sprained thumb in a car accident moved Young back atop the depth chart by default in Week 8, though, and he has maintained the starter’s role since then.

Head coach Dave Canales had previously declined to declare Young the Panthers’ starter on a full-time basis despite keeping him in place each week. The first-time head coach changed his stance in that regard this week, however, confirming it will be last year’s No. 1 pick guiding the offense the rest of the way. The manner in which Young responded to his poor outing against the Cowboys in Week 15 played a part in that decision.

“Watching him in game was what was so impressive,” Canales said (video link via Alex Zietlow of the Charlotte Observer). “To see him just continue to stay in there, to have his footwork exactly where he needed to be to throw to No. 1 in progression and really still see the field… I’ve been around football for 15 years and see where games like that can really pile up on a guy. To watch him handle it and to be composed and to talk with his teammates and keep working with the issues, I thought was so impressive and I wanted to make sure he knew that.”

Young threw a pair of interceptions on Sunday and also lost two fumbles. On the whole, turnovers and sacks taken have again been an issue in 2024, but since returning to the lineup the 23-year-old has shown flashes of his potential. Especially with the Panthers sitting well outside the playoff hunt at 3-11, it comes as no surprise the team plans to keep Young in place to close out the season and in doing so give him additional opportunities to develop.

The Alabama product has not done enough before or after Canales’ arrival to cement himself as the Panthers’ uncontested franchise quarterback, but with his rookie contract running through 2026 (or 2027, if his fifth-year option comes into play) there is still ample time to change that. For the coming offseason, adding competition for the QB1 gig could be an option; at a minimum, re-signing Dalton (a pending free agent) or bringing in another experienced veteran will be required.

Recent signs have pointed to the Panthers turning their attention to positions other than quarterback at the top of this year’s draft. Carolina is on track for a high selection on Day 1, but the team may find itself out of range for Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward. Given the Panthers’ struggles on defense, adding on that side of the ball would be a reasonable approach during the first round. Plenty of time remains for a decision on that front to be made, and Young’s evaluation process will include three more games at the helm.

Year 2 with the Panthers has seen Bryce Young removed and re-inserted into the lineup amongst up-and-down performances. It remains to be seen if Carolina will target a replacement, but at this point the team appears to be eyeing moves at other positions.

Young’s ability to recover from a disappointing rookie campaign was a central storyline for himself individually and the organization as a whole. The main goal of first-year head coach Dave Canales was guiding last April’s No. 1 pick into a franchise passer, a process which hit a roadblock early in the campaign. Young was benched in favor of Andy Dalton in Week 3 before eventually returning to the top of the depth on a permanent basis in Week 8. During the intervening period, trade calls came in given the potential of Carolina being willing to move on.

As general manager Dan Morgan confirmed last month, however, consideration was never given to a trade. Young and the Panthers’ offense have generally seen an uptick in performance since he returned to the starting lineup, although Week 15 represented a notable exception in that regard. Questions therefore still linger with respect to how Carolina will proceed in the offseason. Young figures to remain in the team’s plans, though.

Quarterback should not be considered a position the Panthers target during the first round of the 2025 draft, ESPN’s David Newton writes. Aiding the team’s defense would represent a reasonable goal, and Newton adds edge rush will likely be a option for Carolina’s top pick (one which could still reach as high as the No. 1 slot). Joe Person of The Athletic likewise notes Young should still be in place for next season at a minimum (subscription required).

The 23-year-old’s trade value is not particularly high given how his Carolina tenure has gone to date, and with his 2025 and ’26 compensation (totaling roughly $10.3MM) guaranteed, a release would not be sensible. Young could also be retained one season longer via the fifth-year option, but a decision will not need to be made on that front until after the 2025 campaign. How Young and Canales fare that year will be pivotal in shaping the franchise’s rebuild.

In the meantime, Person adds a veteran presence should be expected to pair with Young. Options include a new deal for Dalton (a pending free agent) or other signal-callers set to hit the market this spring like Daniel Jones. Person names Geno Smith as a potential target based on his familiarity with Canales, although his Seahawks future remains uncertain. An experienced passer would insulate against the possibility of Young regressing in 2025, but for now that is the level of investment under center the Panthers should be expected to make during the offseason.

Panthers head coach Dave Canales emphatically backed quarterback Bryce Young after Sunday’s game, saying that the 2023 No. 1 overall pick will “absolutely” start in Week 13, per ESPN’s David Newton.

Young began the season as Carolina’s starting quarterback, but lost the job after just two weeks with a dismal combined statline of 31 completions on 56 attempts for just 245 yards with three interceptions and zero touchdowns. Andy Dalton took over under center, but sprained his thumb in a car accident in October, pressing Young back into a starting role in Week 8. He delivered his best game of the year with 224 passing yards and two touchdowns against the Broncos, earning him another start in Week 9, even though Dalton was healthy enough to play.

Young then led the Panthers to back-to-back victories to bring them to 3-7 ahead of their Week 11 bye, keeping him under center against Kansas City in Week 12. He put up a season-high 263 passing yards on Sunday and especially excelled against the blitz with 11 completions on 13 attempts for 135 yards and a touchdown, according to Newton.

Sunday’s performance earned Young an unusually strong backing from his head coach. Canales has typically waited at least 24 hours (and up to three days) before naming Young as the next week’s starter since Week 8, saying that he has to watch game film and consult his staff before making a decision. This time, Canales didn’t need any time to make up his mind.

In addition to winning over his head coach, Young seems to have earned the confidence of his teammates. Veteran offensive guard Robert Hunt was “fired up” by Young’s postgame speech in the locker room, a rare occurrence since he was drafted, per Newton.

Many expected Canales to kickstart Young’s development after his success with Geno Smith in Seattle and Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay. The benching may have eroded Young’s confidence initially, but his recent starts have the young quarterback trending in the right direction.

The Panthers are starting Bryce Young at quarterback for the first time since Week 2 of this still young season. While the opportunity comes as a result of an injury to his replacement, Andy Dalton, this is still an important opportunity for the former No. 1 overall pick to show that he’s been making the most of his time on the sideline.

Dalton finds himself doubtful to play this Sunday after spraining his thumb in a car accident this week. The veteran, who will turn 37 in two days, hasn’t entered a season as a team’s starting quarterback since his final year in Cincinnati in 2019. Since then, he’s played extensive backup duty in Dallas, Chicago, New Orleans, and Carolina, starting at least one game each season.

In five starts since taking over as the starter for Young, Dalton has shown both good and bad. In his first start of the year, the Red Rifle delivered a 300-yard, three touchdown performance to earn Carolina’s only win of the season. Since then, Dalton has failed to pass 221 passing yards while throwing four touchdowns to six interceptions.

Young has seen game action twice since getting benched, getting garbage time minutes at the end of blowout losses. The rest of his time has been spent watching, learning, and playing quarterback on the scout team at practices. In a league that has normalized playing first-round quarterbacks immediately as rookies, this should be a valuable opportunity for Young to sit and develop in a way that used to be the norm in the NFL.

This Sunday, Young will be able to show whether or not his time on the bench has been beneficial. Not only that, but Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that, should Young show significant improvement this weekend, “there is a real chance for him to continue starting.” Since getting benched, Young has reportedly been “engaged and involved,” which is exactly the reaction you want from a young top draft pick. Today’s performance in Denver could lay the ground for the remainder of Young’s sophomore campaign and, perhaps, for the rest of his career.