The long-term future of Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young continues to spark discussions among media personalities and some NFL executives who reportedly believe the Panthers should think twice before they sign Young to a lucrative contract extension.
During a recent appearance on the “Green Light with Chris Long” podcast, Panthers defensive lineman Derrick Brown shared an interesting theory regarding why some members of the NFL community still aren’t giving Young his flowers.
Is pride the reason some Bryce Young takes still exist?
“He’s our guy,” Brown said about Young, per Bobby Kownack of the NFL’s website. “We ride with (No.) 9 all the way through. That’s one of those things that people don’t want to admit how good he’s becoming because they’re going to have to go back and admit how wrong they were. As we all know, people don’t like doing that.”
While Brown deserves credit for backing his QB1, Young was far from elite last season. The Panthers finished the campaign with a record of 8-9 and only earned a playoff berth via tiebreaker advantage. According to Pro Football Reference, Young ended Week 18 tied for 25th in the NFL among qualified players with a 47.6 adjusted QBR and tied for 26th with an 87.8 passer rating.
Bryce Young impressed teammates with how he handled his demotion
Young seemed to have no future with the Panthers after he was benched for poor play following the second game of Carolina’s 2024 season. He reportedly “earned a lot of respect” from teammates for how he handled that difficult situation before he played better across his final 10 starts of that campaign.
“He took the benching and, man, he just came into work every single day and killed it,” Brown said about how Young reacted to the demotion. “He didn’t care. He went right back to doing what he does. To him, it was about playing football.”
Throughout the spring, Panthers general manager Dan Morgan has seemingly chosen his words carefully when discussing whether or not the club will sign Young to a multiyear extension before the 2026 season gets underway. Carolina picked up the fifth-year option for 2027 attached to Young’s contract, so Morgan theoretically could wait and see how the 24-year-old plays later this fall before a decision about an extension is made.
“I’m going to be honest,” Brown added about Young. “I know everybody’s got an opinion about him, but I would never want to be a quarterback in the NFL. It might be the worst job to have. It’s the highest-paying, but it is the worst job to have in the NFL. I salute Bryce every single day, just dealing with all the outside noise and then still being able to come in there and be efficient in the work.”