Nobody needs to tell quarterback Bryce Young how high the stakes are next season. The Carolina Panthers are seeing some encouraging progress from the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, but much more is required to get this team into legitimate contention.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated magnified this further, claiming that either Young proves he can be consistent enough to become a franchise-caliber presence under center, or the Panthers could very well be in the quarterback market when the 2027 offseason rolls around.
Young's first two years didn't go well, for the most part. Last season saw legitimate growth from the Alabama product, who is also emerging as a prominent locker room leader. Everyone believes in his capabilities, but general manager Dan Morgan runs the football operation with a business-first mindset.
Carolina Panthers could be in the quarterback market if Bryce Young flops in 2026
Breer knows how important Young's performances are for the Panthers' long-term future. He will be under more scrutiny than anybody, and even though Carolina has already triggered his fifth-year option, the 2027 draft class is loaded with tempting prospects if he cannot meet expectations.
"The Panthers look poised to head into the fourth year of Bryce Young’s contract, and it is, to be clear, a critical one for everyone involved. Yes, they’ve exercised his fifth-year option for 2027 at $25.9 million. But if Young doesn’t look like the kind of guy the team would want to invest a deal at more than $50 million per year in this fall, then Carolina will become a suitor for a quarterback next spring."
Young is a football guy first. He's not worried about contracts or his future. He's focused on the now, which involves helping the Panthers take the next step, growing his own game, and continuing with his emergence in high-stakes situations.
If he can do that, everything else will take care of itself.
There is a flip side to this coin.
If Young struggles and the Panthers plateau or, even worse, regress, Morgan will have a big decision to make. This is projected to be an exceptional quarterback class, though not everyone eligible will come out. It's about to get much more expensive to keep the Heisman Trophy winner, which could lead to a blockbuster reset.
This scenario, whichever way it goes, is predicated on Young's performance. Everything is in place to excel. Confidence in his outlook has grown exponentially since he was benched two games into Dave Canales' tenure as head coach. But when it comes to a deal worth $50 million per year or possibly more, the strides must be impossible to ignore.
Hopefully, Young can do enough. Because the last thing this team needs is another do-over when things are finally looking stable.
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