The Carolina Panthers head into the 2026 season with more questions than certainty, and the biggest one still centers on Bryce Young.
Carolina is coming off an 8-9 season in 2025, a year that still ended with the NFC South title after the Panthers won the tiebreaker. Even so, there’s skepticism around whether they can duplicate that finish or make any noise in the playoffs. The division is viewed as one of the weaker ones in the league again, but that hasn’t stopped doubts from piling up around the Panthers’ ceiling.
For Young, the pressure is especially real. He’s entering his fourth season, and while Carolina did pick up his fifth-year option, the team has not made any long-term commitment beyond that.
A strong year would help the Panthers feel better about him as their quarterback of the future. A poor one would only deepen the uncertainty.
CBS Sports analyst Douglas Clawson expects the latter. In his bold predictions for the season, he wrote that Young will be benched before the year is over.
“Bryce Young has slowly taken steps forward in the Panthers offense, capped by going worst to first in the abysmal NFC South last season. Perhaps the improvements have been exaggerated, though.
He was 28th in the NFL in EPA per dropback last season and he will be benched in 2026 when he is unable to take Carolina to the next level... The team picked up his fifth-year option this offseason, but the Panthers' brash owner David Tepper won't put up with a step backward from Young.”
If that prediction comes true, Carolina would likely be in a rough spot overall and forced to turn to someone like Kenny Pickett during the season. It would at least settle the question of where things stand with Young, though not in the way the Panthers want.
There’s also a bigger-picture angle here. With the 2027 quarterback class considered a strong one, moving on from Young could open the door for Carolina to take another swing at the position.
But that’s not the outcome the Panthers are hoping for. They’d much rather see the former first-round pick deliver and give them a real answer under center.
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The Panthers finally gave themselves a little breathing room last season by reaching the playoffs at 8-9, and that has helped create the kind of stability Carolina has been chasing for years. Dave Canales is still the man tasked with turning that step forward into something more durable, but as always in this market, a solid year does not eliminate the pressure that comes with trying to build a long-term answer at head coach.
Mike Tomlin has already surfaced as one name to watch if the Panthers ever decide they want a more proven voice on the sideline, according to an NFL analyst who floated him as a possible candidate if he returns to the league in 2027. Tomlin is currently taking a year away from football after parting ways with the Steelers, who still hold his rights, and for Carolina that only adds another layer to a familiar question: how much patience will the organization really have if Canales cannot keep the momentum moving? [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Draft Outlook Already Hints At A Bigger Bryce Young Question
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The more interesting layer is what else the mock suggests about the Panthers long-term thinking. A quarterback could still enter the conversation later in that draft depending on how Bryce Young develops, which makes every early projection feel like it carries a little more weight than usual. Carolina does not need to decide anything now, but the fact that a future quarterback discussion is already hanging over a cornerback projection says plenty about how closely the front office will be watching Youngs trajectory. [Read more 🡒]
Bobby Okereke Sees Something In Carolina's Defense Fans Will Love
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Just as important, Okereke sees a defensive structure that looks built to support the kind of football he wants to play. Carolinas front and its secondary stood out to him as part of the draw, which matters for a linebacker stepping into a group that wants to tighten things up and make plays at every level. If the fit feels as clean as it sounded when he spoke about it, the Panthers may have more than just a new face in the room. [Read more 🡒]