No confirmed updates have come out on quarterback Bryce Young's contract extension. The Carolina Panthers were reportedly going to wait until after the campaign to get something worked out, needing more time to assess whether this is the franchise player for the future.
Young was seemingly on board. But after a strong start to the campaign, growing whispers around the league suggest something will get worked out sooner rather than later.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, NFL circles speculate that the Panthers have made up their minds about extending Young.
NFL whispers hint at long-awaited Carolina Panthers extension ffor Bryce Young
Florio said sources believe a potential deal is close to being agreed upon and could be north of $50 million per year, firmly tying the Panthers to Young for years to come.
"As to (Bryce) Young, we’ve recently caught wind of chatter that the Panthers are “far down the road” toward signing him to a second deal in excess of $50 million per year."
This would be an astonishing development. But even if the Panthers wait a little longer, they also have a habit of moving in silence on massive contract extensions for key personnel.
And if Young does get paid, he'll have earned it.
The former Alabama star still has his critics. Young's last two performances have brought them out of the woodwork again, but they have little context for their criticism.
Young's offensive line is appalling, and that's being kind. His overall body of work this season has been great, with the signal-caller displaying much more poise, precision, and conviction under center.
Bryce Young extension would completely change the Carolina Panthers' landscape
The No. 1 pick in 2023 is still among the league leaders in passing yards per game, even if his injured knee has clearly limited him lately. Young was even in the NFL MVP conversation at the Panthers' bye week, which is a testament to how far he's come since being benched two games into Dave Canales' reign as head coach.
Some fans don't believe Young is worth the money. Others are convinced this is the guy who can help them get to the promised land. The truth could be somewhere in the middle, but if Florio's report is accurate, the Panthers have supreme confidence in the signal-caller.
And they're willing to put the money behind this faith.
Obviously, paying the quarterback changes everything.
The Panthers haven't achieved much with Young in his rookie deal, and it'll get more expensive to keep him around from here. That will make it harder to build a competitive roster, especially since Carolina will be up against it from a salary-cap perspective next spring.
Not giving Young a new deal would mean starting over. This project is too far along for that, and the performances justify another financial commitment from the franchise.
But if it's in the $50 million-per-year range or more, it will not be universally approved.
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