Bryce Young showed real progress for the Carolina Panthers last season, but that hasn’t been enough to take his name off the danger list heading into 2026.
The former No. 1 overall pick had his moments in 2025. He set the franchise’s single-game passing yards record, and he also turned in what could have been a knockout blow against a Super Bowl favorite in the playoffs. On the surface, that looks like a quarterback on the rise.
The numbers, though, still leave plenty of room for doubt. Young finished with fewer than 200 passing yards in 12 of his starts, and he closed the year 27th in passer rating and 22nd in quarterback rating. Across his three-year career, he has reached 250 passing yards only eight times in 45 starts.
That’s why CBS Sports put him on its list of the one Panthers player on the hot seat entering 2026. Senior NFL writer Zach Pereles framed it as a pivotal year for Young, noting:
. . . If he plays well this season, he'll be one of the cheaper starting quarterbacks in 2027, and if he doesn't, his cost is far from prohibitive.
In that sense, this is a make-or-break year for the former Alabama star. After a disastrous rookie season, Young took a step forward near the end of his second year and another step last year, but he still ranked just 29th in net yards per attempt, 26th in EPA per play and 25th in interception rate . . .
Pereles also pointed out that Young has shown flashes since returning to the lineup in the middle of the 2024 season, but the next step is turning those flashes into something more consistent in 2026.
He isn’t the first quarterback to arrive late to that kind of breakthrough. Buffalo’s Josh Allen, the 2024 MVP, didn’t become Josh Allen until his third season, and Indianapolis quarterback Daniel Jones didn’t have his breakout until his seventh year.
Still, Young doesn’t have the same physical profile as those passers. Allen and Jones bring more size and arm strength, and Jones is also a more dangerous runner. Young can move, but he isn’t a true rushing threat.
What he does have is confidence. When he gets rolling, he can be as dangerous as almost any starter in the league. The issue for Carolina is simple: that version of Bryce Young has to show up far more often if he’s going to remain the Panthers’ starter beyond 2026.
In Other News...
Panthers Face A Risky Haynes King Decision They Could Regret
As the Panthers move through their roster cuts, Haynes King has become one of those preseason names that can linger because of what he might eventually offer rather than what he has already shown. He has only appeared in the Hall of Fame Game so far, and his injury recovery has kept him from building much of a rsum in camp, but the appeal is obvious enough: a quarterback with enough versatility to be used in different offensive looks and enough short-yardage value to matter in a tight game.
That makes his spot a tricky one to judge, because the Panthers are weighing immediate roster math against the risk of letting a useful player get away before he has a chance to prove it. If they move on now, it would be easy to see how the decision could be revisited later if his development continues and another team is willing to bet on the same upside Carolina is trying to measure. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Face A Risky QB Debate Behind Bryce Young
The Panthers continue to operate as if Bryce Young is the quarterback to build around, and that certainty shapes everything else in the room behind him. With the team still sorting out how to support Young, the temptation to chase another name has surfaced in the usual offseason way, with Carolina linked to possible quarterback trade chatter involving Mac Jones and J.J. McCarthy.
But the case against making a move is pretty straightforward: the Panthers already have bodies behind Young, including Haynes King and Kenny Pickett, and there is enough uncertainty around the starters long-term setup without adding another layer to it. For now, the smarter play looks like patience, keeping the current quarterback group intact until Carolina has a clearer reason to change course. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Suddenly Have One More Pass Rush Situation To Watch
The Panthers spent the offseason trying to give their pass rush a clearer shape, signing Jaelan Phillips to a four-year contract with the idea of pairing him with Nic Scourton. Instead, Scourtons torn ACL changed the picture before the regular season even arrived, leaving Carolina with another question mark in a spot that already needed reinforcement.
Josh Sweats name has entered the conversation as the kind of player who could fit what Carolina is looking for, especially with the Cardinals sitting on a veteran edge option. But Arizona general manager Monti Ossenfort has already said there is no interest in moving him, which leaves the Panthers monitoring a situation that could matter to their defense without offering any easy answers yet. [Read more 🡒]