Panthers news: Dave Canales, Bryce Young, Ikem Ekwonu and ticket hike
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers don't plan to fix Bryce Young
It didn't take long for questions about Bryce Young to come up during Dave Canales' media availability at the NFL Scouting Combine. The quarterback's rough rookie season has some analysts already writing him off after just one year in the pros. Some of it was the player's doing. The Carolina Panthers also need to take their fair share of responsibility after emerging into the worst environment imaginable.
Canales doesn't feel like Young needs to be fixed based on comments via ESPN. Instead, it's about molding an offensive scheme around his gifts and improving problem areas of his game gradually. After that, the head coach believes everything else will fall into place.
"No big plan to fix him. For me, it's about building an offense that we can be proud of, something that is tough, something that is smart, that takes care of the football. It's really elevating the whole group, and just asking Bryce to do his part of it. I just see a really accurate player, a real decisive player. For him, some of the basic things, that for any quarterback improvement is footwork. Let's continue to grow more specific to the pass concept, more specific to who is this person running this route? Three different receivers run the same route, it could be three different things. That's a coaching thing. Maximizing some of his abilities are going to help that."
- Dave Canales via ESPN
Young has talent, although last season demonstrated flashes but nothing more. There will be a bigger microscope on the signal-caller next season under a renowned quarterback developer in Canales. Anything less than a big leap forward will only provide further ammunition to his critics.