Panthers quarterback Bryce Young isn’t worried if he doesn’t play in the preseason.
As the No. 1 overall pick in 2023, Young had a tough rookie season, with a 2-14 record as a starter and low rankings in most passing stats. He’s now starting his second year with a new offense under coach Dave Canales.
Even though Young has been kept out of Carolina’s first two preseason games, he trusts the coaching staff’s decisions.
“They manage the team and they know what they’re doing,” Young said about the coaches. “For me and for us (as a team), we trust whatever they want to do. Whatever their calls are, we are comfortable with that.”
Canales, who previously worked with Geno Smith in Seattle and Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay, had good results with both quarterbacks before joining Carolina.
The Panthers completed installing their offensive scheme about two weeks ago, and Young feels he understands his role well.
That’s why he said he’s fine if he doesn’t play in Saturday’s last exhibition game against the Buffalo Bills.
“I will be comfortable either way,” Young said. “I know they are not just waking up and rolling the dice. There is a reason for everything and they are very calculated in what they are doing. They have our best interest at heart.
They have had success as a start throughout different places, so I will be comfortable whatever the call is.”
Canales mentioned on Tuesday that it’s too soon to decide if he’ll play his starters against the Bills, but he is “open” to the idea.
Bills coach Sean McDermott will not be playing his starters.
Canales said that this won’t affect his decision. Instead, it will depend more on the health of the players around Young.
“We have to look at what does that (starting) group look like if we put everybody out there?” Canales said. “Are there enough of those guys (healthy) to say, ‘Man, this is valuable for us to get these reps?’
Once we start to get into the depth of different positions it kind of forces our hand sometimes on can we play guys, or do we need to play them.”
So far, none of Carolina’s starters have played in the preseason losses to the New England Patriots and New York Jets. The Panthers kept 33 players out against the Patriots and 38 against the Jets, focusing more on avoiding injuries than on building team chemistry.
NFL teams have different strategies for using quarterbacks in the preseason.
Patrick Mahomes has played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Josh Allen has been on the field for the Bills. However, Deshaun Watson has not yet played for Cleveland.
Canales has been impressed with how Young has learned the new offense. He believes that the work Young has done in training camp and in last week’s practice with the New York Jets has helped his progress.
Canales said if Young plays this week, he will want to see him run the offense effectively.
“I want to see things run smoothly and I want to see the communication, the in-between-drives conversation, all of that stuff is so valuable,” Canales said.
