With Andy Dalton sidelined by a thumb injury, Bryce Young was back in the saddle as Carolina’s starting quarterback in Week 8.
Young, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 draft, didn’t lead the Panthers to victory. But he did put together what was easily his best outing of the season, completing 24-of-37 passes for 224 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
While head coach Dave Canales wasn’t ready to say on Monday who will start at QB in the Week 9 matchup with New Orleans, Canales did note that Young’s ability to compete stood out against the Broncos.
“He found some great completions throughout the game,” Canales said. “I thought the chemistry, finding Xavier [Legette], finding Jalen [Coker] a couple of times, finding D.Mo [David Moore]. There were some things that I was really encouraged by, and I think he took steps in that regard and I think that, the whole process, the pre-snap operation is the focus and the intent for us improvement-wise.”
Canales added that he thought Young’s in-play timing also improved, though he again mentioned that there are things pre-snap that need to be cleaned up.
“I thought he played fast, I thought he was very decisive,” Canales said. “He had some scrambles, he threw the ball away in some situations which it was the right thing to do. He found a little bit of extra time in the pocket to get some of those late completions, dealt with a pretty good rush group some things they threw at him. That was encouraging, that part of it to see him play with that type of speed and urgency that showed up on gameday was great, and so I was excited about that and now again, like I said before, just focusing on the pre-snap operation, get up there, be decisive, try to keep the pressure on the defense is where we’re heading this week.”
While Young displayed improvement, the possibility remains out there that the Panthers could trade the quarterback before the Nov. 5 deadline. Canales said he’s not thinking about that.
“Again, all those things are stuff that Dan [Morgan] and Brandt [Tilis] are talking through,” Canales said. “For me, my focus is to address some of the issues that we’re talking about from a football standpoint. That’s really where I have to keep my energy and focus right now.”
