Bryce Young looks like a million — actually, 200 million — bucks at Panther camp
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As he begins his fourth NFL season, at age 25, Bryce Young just seems … different.
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People can and should be skeptical about the sonnets written about starting NFL quarterbacks every offseason, when no one is getting sacked and almost everyone looks good.
But I’m here to tell you, based on whatever institutional knowledge I’ve acquired from covering these Carolina Panthers for 32 straight seasons, that what Young is doing in practice right now in training camp is about to lead to a really good —and possibly great — season for him. And it will lead to a massive new contract, too.
You’ve seen Steph Curry get on a heater, right?
When he’s shooting logo threes and putting people to sleep in the fourth quarter?
With exactly zero fans in attendance and not nearly the same level of pressure as a real game, that was Young in Carolina’s training camp Wednesday. It was the best practice I’ve ever seen him have. It was impossible to look away as No. 9 made one dazzling throw after another, firing the ball into windows the size of portholes.
Young threw one 30-yard deep ball to Xavier Legette in the back left corner of the end zone that couldn’t have been placed any better if he had walked the 30 yards and handed it to Legette (who made a great catch with safety Nick Scott draped all over him).
Young also scrambled away from pressure — “that’s where he’s special,” coach Dave Canales said — and found one target after another on the run.
Over and over, the coverage wasn’t bad, but Young was better. His receivers helped him out by catching everything. He ended practice with a strike to the fingertips of Tetairoa McMillan in the end zone. T-Mac hauled it in on the full stretch, the horn blew and practice was over with a play that was symbolic of the day.
“They whooped our ass today,” noted Pro Bowl cornerback Jaycee Horn, speaking of the Carolina offense’s success against the defense.
And yes, that’s exactly what happened. It’s not what has happened in every practice, but it’s happening more often as Young, the No. 1 overall selection of the 2023 NFL Draft, plays with the sort of freedom that knowing the playbook backward and forward allows you to do.
“Bryce is continuing to just take the next steps,” Canales said Wednesday. “What I see from Bryce right now is just ownership and mastery of the concepts. And now I just see the timing, the rhythm, and just the me-to-you factor with his guys, and watching him throw anticipatory balls to T-Mac, to Jalen (Coker), to David Moore, who showed up again with another touchdown.”
It’s important to inject the requisite skepticism here. Chris Brazzell, the rookie the Panthers were counting on to be an occasional player and deep-ball threat for Young, was carted off Wednesday with a knee injury. It may cost him up to eight weeks. So that’s going to hurt a little.
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And it’s also significant to note that Young (still only 14-30 as an NFL starter) can’t get hit in these practices (which Carolina fans usually would be watching, but aren’t for the second straight year due to construction). Lots of QBs do throw the ball well in those kinds of situations, including Carolina’s backups on Wednesday.
Still, most of those QBs aren’t regularly going against Horn and Mike Jackson — one of the best cornerback combos in the league —every day.
Said Horn: “I kind of notice Bryce is trusting his receivers more, putting the ball in the air, letting them come make plays. They whooped our ass today for most of the practice, but you know? It’s good to see that too, just because we know we’re coming in with some firepower on the offensive side of the ball, and it’s gonna help us on Sundays.”
Barring a cataclysmic injury, all of this translates into an eventual Young contract extension. He’s already locked into Charlotte through the 2027 season, since the Panthers picked up his fifth-year option.
But since quarterback is easily the most important position on the field, NFL teams routinely sign those guys to contract extensions well before their fifth-year option runs out. Based on current NFL standards, an eventual four-year, $200 million contract extension would be in the ballpark for Young.
BY9 is never going to have the same “look at me” personality as Cam Newton. But, like Newton was throughout the 2010s, he has become the face of Charlotte pro sports. And he’s got the clutch gene: Young led game-winning drives in six of Carolina’s eight wins last season.
Some of this hinges on the Panthers getting better this season, of course. Oddsmakers think they will be slightly worse.
Carolina went 8-9 in 2025 (still winning the NFC South) and its over-under on wins this season is currently at 7.5.
But I’m now to the point of agreement with tight end Tommy Tremble, who told me this in June about Young:
“Bryce is playing on a different level. … He’s gonna ball out. And it’s gonna get him paid.”
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