Two weeks into the 2024 NFL season, Bryce Young reached a new low. His Panthers opened the season with two miserable losses, complete with booing from fans in the home opener, and the 23-year-old soon became the first quarterback selected No. 1 overall in the Super Bowl era to be benched for non-injury reasons.
This season, Young wants to prove the Panthers made the right choice by drafting him two years ago. The team’s front office will be paying close attention to his on-field play—Young could receive a contract extension after this season, the third in his four-year rookie deal, which includes a fifth-year option. It’s common for teams to exercise these options on their young quarterbacks who are playing well as they negotiate long-term deals entering their fourth season.
Young, meanwhile, says he will focus on his mental health as well as his on-field tasks. Coming off last year’s forgettable season, he has plenty of improvements to make. He experienced some of the lowest moments of his football career on the field last year, including three games where he tossed two interceptions. The blunders fueled critics who said he was too short and lacked the arm to shine in the NFL.
Young admitted his psyche was challenged as he worked through this. “I leaned on family, friends and people that I could trust to help me go through it,” Young said in an interview. “But there’s also been times where I’ve been in a good place in my life professionally,” and he still struggled with mental health challenges.
Young ultimately reclaimed his starting role a month after being benched, and the team finished with a 5-12 record. The QB showed promise at the end of 2024, capped by a five-touchdown outing in a regular-season finale overtime win over division rival Atlanta Falcons. But that performance can’t mask the fact that Young has won just seven games in two seasons in Charlotte.
Adjusting to the NFL has been a challenge, to say the least. Young reached the pinnacle of success in high school at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif.—he was named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2020—and in college at Alabama. The 2021 Heisman Trophy winner holds multiple records, including single-season passing touchdowns (47), and led the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff National Championship game in 2022.
These days Young looks to humanize himself as he joins a growing number of pro athletes vocal about the importance of prioritizing mental health. He hopes his advocacy can inspire others to act. Mental balance, he says, effects “everything” from a 9-to-5 job to a relationship with a significant other.
“If you’re not OK, you can’t be the person you need to be for other people,” he said. “With my position, I want to make sure I’m at my best mentally so I can be the quarterback, the leader and make clear decisions. I need to be able to handle that but [also] all aspects of my life.”
Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud—who was drafted No. 2 in 2023, just after Young—is also entering the back half of his four-year rookie contract. Stroud appears to be a frontrunner for a big extension, despite a sophomore slump in 2024. The next contract that Stroud secures—a deal that likely will reset the quarterback market—could also have implications on Young’s future negotiations.
Young nonetheless has another season to prove that he is long-term starter material. This year he’ll take the field with a new weapon: former Arizona star receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who was drafted eighth overall in April. The addition of McMillan and his solid finish in 2024 has some media members pegging Young for a breakout season in 2025.
“I’m trying to control what I can control,” he added. “And that’s the (same) whether you’re expected to do well or expected to do poorly. … I’m just trying to be the best version of myself for the team and do everything I can for us, so that we can accomplish our goals.”