After struggling in his rookie season, Young was benched by Dave Canales early in 2024. However, since returning to the saddle, the QB has improved greatly. His pocket presence, post-snap reads, willingness to take tough throws and poise have all improved under Canales.
Morgan cited all of this as why the Panthers believe in Young’s future.
“Obviously he came into a very difficult position as far as the coaching staff, maybe you could say the talent around him wasn’t great as well,” the Carolina GM said of Young. “So to come in as a freshman and come into a really tough situation where we had a coaching change, a lot of shuffling around the building, for Coach Canales to come in here and provide stability, for him to be in the system that’s now going on three years in a row, I think you see him just get better and better every single year. Understanding the offense, he’s such a good processor around him and he’s just such a good processor around him. day When you see him mature, you see him become a better leader every year.
“We really feel like the arrow is up with Bryce.”
The Panthers don’t need to deal with Young’s contract anytime soon. With a fifth-year option, he’s signed through 2027. Even at $25.9 million guaranteed through 2027, that’s still a bargain for a starting pitcher. After that, the club could use the franchise tag twice to prevent him from hitting the open market. It’s rare for a team to get into a game with multiple franchise players, especially quarterbacks. However, it shows the Panthers have four years of leverage before they would do that have to decide Young’s future.
Getting deals done early could save money in the long run, as QB deals are only heading north. However, given the way his career has played out, it wouldn’t be at all surprising for the team to ask for another year of development before committing significant guaranteed money to a QB with one playoff run and no Pro Bowls yet to his name.