The Carolina Panthers may still be waiting for Bryce Young to fully lock down the long-term answer at quarterback, but at least one national analyst no longer sees their situation as one of the league’s bottom five.
CBS Sports’ Jordan Dajani left Carolina out of his list of the five worst quarterback rooms heading into the 2026 season, a group that instead included the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets and Cleveland Browns.
That matters because the Panthers have spent plenty of recent seasons getting lumped into the NFL’s quarterback misery conversation. This time, though, the case for Carolina looks a little better - not because everything is settled, but because Young showed real progress in 2025.
He finished with career highs in passing yards (3,011), touchdowns (23), completion rate (63.6%) and passer rating (87.8). That’s the kind of step forward the Panthers needed to see.
At the same time, the rough edges were still there, and Young’s 11 interceptions were also a career high. The overall performance still came with too many negatives to call the job finished.
Even so, compared with the other rooms that made Dajani’s list, Carolina’s setup looks more stable. Miami is set to roll with Malik Willis, who has never been a full-time starter. Atlanta has two uncertain options in Michael Penix Jr., who still has more to prove than Young, and Tua Tagovailoa, who put together a career-worst season in 2025.
Arizona’s situation is messy as well, with Jacoby Brissett, a career backup, carrying an unclear future before training camp because he’s holding out.
Then there’s the pair of veteran names in New York and Cleveland. Geno Smith and Deshaun Watson are the quarterbacks for the Jets and Browns, respectively, but Smith was one of the worst signal-callers in the NFL last season, while Watson held that distinction the last time he played in 2024. And even in Cleveland, Watson is not a lock to start, since he’s still in a competition with the unproven Shedeur Sanders.
So Carolina still has work to do, and Young still has to prove he’s the answer. But for now, the Panthers have at least climbed out of the league’s worst-quarterback-room conversation.
In Other News...
Bryce Young Disrespect Is Fueling A New Panthers Debate
Bryce Youngs standing around the league has become its own kind of Panthers talking point, and not just because of the usual noise that follows a former No. 1 pick. The conversation has only picked up as Young heads into another season with Carolina, where his early career has already produced a sizable body of work and a contract situation that keeps the next step very much in view. He is still playing under his rookie deal, and the Panthers have every reason to keep measuring him against the expectations that came with being drafted first overall in 2023.
Inside the building, though, there is no sign of wavering belief. Offensive coordinator Brad Idzik has praised Youngs competitiveness and the way he handles pressure, describing him as the kind of quarterback the Panthers want when the game tightens up. That confidence matters because the outside debate keeps circling back to the same question: whether Youngs reputation around the NFL matches what Carolina sees every day, or whether the latest slight is only adding fuel to a longer argument about where he belongs. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Rookies Enter Camp With Real Week 1 Jobs On The Line
Training camp has a way of sorting out the Panthers rookies quickly, and this group arrives with more than the usual amount of urgency. A first-round pick is in the mix at left tackle, while Aaron Hall has a clearer path to the roster because of Tershawn Whartons injury. Elsewhere, Lee Hunter, Chris Brazzell II, Sam Hecht and Zakee Wheatley all enter camp with legitimate reasons to keep the coaching staff watching closely, whether that means a role on the depth chart or a real shot at playing time.
The bigger point for Carolina is that these arent just developmental names tucked away for later. Several of them are tied to jobs that matter in September, from protecting the quarterback to helping stabilize the line of scrimmage and filling out the secondary. The Panthers have enough open competition spots that a strong camp could change the shape of the roster, and the early weeks will tell which rookies are ready to force their way into the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
These 3 Panthers Additions Could Make Carolinas Defense Dangerous
Dave Canales Panthers took a real step forward in 2025, climbing from 5-12 the year before to 8-9 and winning the NFC South behind a defense that made clear progress under Ejiro Evero. The unit moved up the rankings, gave up fewer touchdowns and started to look like a group that could support a team trying to turn a division title into something more lasting.
Now Carolina has added more pieces to that side of the ball, and the appeal is obvious. Jaelan Phillips brings pass-rush upside, Devin Lloyd gives the middle of the defense another athletic playmaker, and rookie defensive tackle Lee Hunter adds more size and juice up front. The question is how quickly those additions can mesh with the holdovers and whether the Panthers can keep building on the momentum they already showed, especially with Phillips carrying some recent durability concerns into the mix. [Read more 🡒]