Vincent Frank
When Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young showed up on the injury report with an ankle issue, it was somewhat of a surprise. The rookie No. 1 pick had completed the entire Week 2 outing against the New Orleans Saints.
Initially, it seemed that Young’s absence would be of a multi-week variety. That no longer appears to be the case. Days after their loss to the Seattle Seahawks with Andy Dalton replacing Young under center, the Panthers announced that the latter is returning to practice.
This seems to suggest that a return for Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings is in the cards. First-year head coach Frank Reich added to this in talking with reporters on Wednesday, indicating that Young doesn’t need to be 100% to play. “I trust that guy,” Reich said.
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In Young’s stead last week against Seattle, Dalton completed 34-of-58 passes for 361 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. The Panthers dropped 27 points in defeat. That’s the same number of points Carolina has put up in Young’s two starts.
Bryce Young stats (2023): 59% completion, 299 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 66.6 QB rating
Despite the fact that it seems Dalton is more prepared to lead a reliable offense than Young, the Panthers have not wavered. Young is QB1 when he’s ready to go.
This should not come as a surprise. While Carolina’s brass will tell us publicly that contending is the name of the game this season, it’s all about Young evolving as a franchise quarterback.
The Panthers exhausted a ton of capital to move up to the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft for the Alabama product. His maturation is more important than winning a game or two with Dalton starting.
Related: Bryce Young’s standing among NFL’s 32 starting QBs
