When Panthers head coach Dave Canales benched quarterback Bryce Young just two games into last season, some wondered if Young was already done as Carolina’s franchise quarterback. But heading into this season, there’s no doubt about Young’s status.
Canales said on NFL Network that Young wasn’t happy about being benched but took it upon himself to respond the right way.
“He continued to lead throughout that process,” Canales said. “He earned a lot of respect from his teammates, from me, that regardless of the situation — he didn’t agree with me on the decision not to play him — but he worked and he kept leading. He was showing me, ‘This is my team.’ And he was showing his teammates, ‘You’re my guys.’”
Canales said that when Young got the starting job back he showed he had earned it, and he is continuing to show that this year.
“He came back in and we started to grow together, and then building into that into the offseason, the leadership continued,” Young said. “That was the most impressive part to me. It’s a real challenge, we’ve seen different situations, different scenarios on teams where a top pick is struggling and can get isolated from teammates. He just stepped up.”
Now the Panthers want Young to make another step, and to make clear that they made the right choice when they made him the first overall pick in the draft.