Bryce Young started off slow but ended strong during the Carolina Panthers’ intrasquad scrimmage on Thursday night at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium, where the team played its home games in 1995 as an expansion team.
The 2023 No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft was unofficially 11 of 18 passing, with most of his completions coming on short throws.
The first three drives for the starting offense ended without scoring, but Young connected with veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen — his favorite target last season — for a 2-yard touchdown pass on his final drive to end the night positively.
Early on, the offense had several mistakes, including presnap penalties, two sacks allowed, and a botched shotgun snap exchange that forced Young to scramble to recover a loose ball before throwing it away to avoid a big loss.
Panthers coach Dave Canales described Young’s performance as “good, not great.”
“He is definitely going to be critical of himself on a couple of the plays, but I thought that when we had the protection and the concepts were there, he nailed it,” Canales said. “He was accurate just like he has been all (training) camp.”
Canales was especially pleased with Young’s final drive, where he was 4 of 6 passing and led the Panthers on a long touchdown drive finished by the pass to Thielen, who got open in the flat for the score.
“I keep preaching finish, and that type of finish on that last drive, to see it all come together was great,” Canales said. “And I was really excited about the receivers, the different guys coming in to make plays.”
The scrimmage, which did not attract a large crowd — no attendance was announced — was partly due to the threat of storms in the area and celebrated the team’s upcoming 30th season.
The Panthers played their first season’s home games in Clemson while their new stadium was being built in Charlotte, North Carolina.
