Can Bryce Young Salvage His NFL Career?

Bryce Young was all but dead and buried as a starting NFL quarterback just a couple of months ago. Benched and replaced by veteran Andy Dalton in Carolina in his sophomore year in the league. He endured a torrid rookie season after being drafted number one overall by the Panthers in 2023.

Poor coaching and a lack of weaponry on a mediocre roster made it hard for him to show off his talent. Ultimately, the Panthers slumped to just two wins. And while they will end this year with a seventh consecutive losing campaign, all hope is not lost in Charlotte.

Young was benched after two games in September, albeit with two blowout losses to average opponents. Just 18 games into his career, Young struggled to make key passes, exhibited poor decision-making, and could not avoid costly turnovers.

The situation was made worse for him when Dalton came into the mix and threw for over 300 yards in the Panthers’ first win of the season against the Raiders in week three. But after Dalton was involved in a car accident in late October, sustaining a mild injury but enough for him to be ruled out of action, Young got another opportunity. One that he has taken with both hands. Whilst the overall record can disdain the promise Young has demonstrated since he reacquired his starting role, there is no doubt that there are positive signs of concrete development.

Young’s first game back was against the Broncos, known for having a good defence and arguably the favourite for Offensive Rookie of the Year in Bo Nix. Carolina lost that game 28-14 to a team on the rise, but early glimpses of progress were there to be observed. The Alabama Heisman Trophy winner led the Panthers to back-to-back wins against division rivals New Orleans and the Giants in Munich.

It was their first win streak since the beginning of the 2021 season when they started 3-0—an embodiment of how discombobulated the organisation has been in the last few years. Nothing jumps out when watching a film of Bryce in those games. His competence in the quarterback position, his ability to move the ball, and his ability to limit turnovers earned him some deserved compliments in the NFL sphere.

Young led a 4th quarter touchdown drive, which ended just north of the 2-minute warning. And whilst they failed to convert the two-point conversion to go up by three, the Panthers D held firm to get over the line 23-22 onto Munich, where the Panthers played in their second international series game after beating the Bucs in 2019 in London. It was a low-scoring affair with limited offensive explosiveness from either side. Carolina was up by ten late, but Daniel Jones rallied to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Granted, the Panthers were pretty much gifted the win with promising rookie Tyrone Tracy fumbling the ball on the first play to give Carolina the pigskin deep into Giants territory. An Eddie Pinero kick sealed the deal, and the vibes in that locker room were seemingly the highest they had been in months, maybe even years.

In terms of the win column, the Panthers have not added to that since Munich but have possibly played their best three-game stretch since coming off the bye. They have faced juggernauts in both conferences and their NFC South division leaders, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

All three have been lost by one possession, with the Bucs matchup ending in a heartbreaking OT loss. Bryce was two yards shy of his first 300-yard passing game of the season and what would have been the second of his career. More importantly, he went three games (Giants, Chiefs, Bucs) without throwing an interception.

One of the main caveats in Young’s early career has been his lack of weaponry. Last season, an absence of talent on most of the roster meant Young had no one to rely on in the passing game, amalgamated with the defence’s inability to get off the field. It was a losing combination, one that has been partially rectified. Adam Thielen’s returning to health has aided Young’s improvement in the passing game. The veteran missed weeks 4-11 with injury but has since had 20 receptions on 25 targets for 258 yards combined in his last three. He has been the go-to guy on key downs for Young.

Others have also gotten involved, with rookie Xavier Legette making his fair share of contributions, with four touchdowns and more than 400 yards in the year. However, the South Carolina wideout was the victim of a crucial drop on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, ultimately costing Carolina the game.

Down six with 44 seconds remaining, Young fired a ball up the seam to Legette, who had got the better of the corner. Legette initially grabbed the ball, which was thrown perfectly, but could not hang on. It was rightfully called incomplete by officials after it touched the turf. He might have scored a touchdown if he held on, but at worst, the Panthers would have been inside the 1-yard line, with basically no time remaining, needing a score and an extra point to pull off a remarkable win.

However, the third down incompletion was followed by another on fourth down to end the contest and give the Eagles the W. Young was evidently gutted with the result, on what would have been a 98-yard game-winning touchdown drive, and perhaps the highlight of his young career in the NFL. But the league is cruel, and Young’s limelight was stripped from him, mainly because of his young receiver.

Despite the relatively small sample size, Panthers fans must feel rejuvenated in their aspirations for Young to become the quarterback of the future in Carolina.