Dave Canales Delivers Commanding Bryce Young Announcement Entering Offseason
By Jovan Alford
On Sunday afternoon, the Carolina Panthers capped off the 2024 regular season with a thrilling 44-38 win over the Atlanta Falcons. With the Week 18 overtime victory over their NFC South foes, the Panthers have finished this season with five wins.
The last time the Panthers had at least five wins in a season was in 2021 (5-12). Unlike in 2021, the feeling around Carolina feels much better as second-year quarterback Bryce Young showed on Sunday that he’s their franchise QB.
Young completed 25-of-34 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns. The former Alabama QB also had two rushing touchdowns in the shocking overtime win. After the thrilling win over the Falcons, head coach Dave Canales made a commanding declaration about Young and his status with the franchise.
According to Darin Gantt, Canales said “Bryce is our quarterback” and added “Proud of the way he took the challenge and grew.”
Canales was asked about Young's status for next year, jokes that he's out of weeks to declare him week-to-week.
— Darin Gantt (@daringantt) January 5, 2025
"Bryce is our quarterback."
"Proud of the way he took the challenge and grew."
It’s been an unusual season for Young, who was benched after the second game of the regular season but eventually returned to the starting lineup in Week 8 against Denver.
The former Crimson Tide quarterback didn’t put up spectacular numbers in the Week 8 loss vs. Denver (24-of-37 with 224 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions). However, it seemed as if Young was starting to turn the corner.
Heading into the Week 18 finale against Atlanta, Young completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 1,853 yards, 12 touchdowns, and six touchdowns. He also had 199 rushing yards and three scores.
Before this season started, some fans wondered if Young was the guy to lead the team. Based on how he finished the season, Young showed that he’s the guy and now it’s time for the front office to put more pieces around him to succeed.
The Panthers have weapons on offense to work with, including the offensive line. They must address the defense in free agency and the draft. If the Panthers do and Young plays like how he did in the second half of this season in 2025, Carolina might make some noise in the NFC South.
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