Bryce Young, for at least one more week, will be the starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers.
On Wednesday, head coach Dave Canales announced that Young will start under center for Sunday’s matchup against the New Orleans Saints. This will be Young’s second straight nod back in the lineup since being benched at the beginning of Week 3.
Canales explained his decision to go with Young over veteran Andy Dalton, who continues to recover from his sprained right thumb.
“So, he [Young] took the reps with the ones today,” he stated. “Andy is progressing. He was out there throwing. And I just really looked at all the things and for me, I just erred on the side of caution and wanted get Andy in the best possible situation to be able to make a decision going forward.
“Also, I’m excited for Bryce—to have an opportunity to build off some of the things that he did last week. Certainly, things to work on, but a lot of good stuff that he did too.”
Young was relatively decent in Week 8’s 28-14 loss to the Denver Broncos—as he completed 24 of his 37 throws for 224 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions against one of the toughest defenses in the NFL. Those 224 net passing yards, by the way, were the most by a quarterback against Denver all season.
Canales was then asked what he hopes Young will build on heading into this next opportunity.
“Some of the rhythmic throws,” he replied. “First drive—just kinda finding a good mix and balance of it. For me, again, this is an opportunity to continue to find the things that he’s confident with. He found some nice completions throughout, here and there, and then finished with a really nice drive that I thought—obviously, the game was out of hand—but at the same time, we were competing to find wins in those moments.”
The Panthers will continue to take their quarterback choice week by week, as Canales stopped short of committing to either as the starter for the remainder of the campaign.