Former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is not enthralled with the way the Panthers have been treating current quarterback Bryce Young.
When asked if Carolina had set Young up for success in his rookie campaign, his answer was a negative.
“No,” Newton said Wednesday on KJ ALL DAY with KJ Wright, via Panthers Wire. “And I see the receiver skill set, yes. You see the (Adam) Thielen, you see (DJ) Chark, you see the tight end there. But from top to bottom, for him, it’s not set up for him to be successful—especially not his rookie year, in my honest opinion.”
Young, who missed the Panthers’ Week 3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks due to a sprained ankle, has thrown for 299 yards, two touchdowns and a couple of interceptions while completing 59.2 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 66.6 in the first two starts of his career.
“And, like I said, everything that Carolina is building—will they get to that point? Yes,” added Newton. “In throwing him into the wolves and expecting instant success, that’s not the quarterback position, unfortunately. What I will say—it’s gonna take a season for him to kind of see the preparation, seeing the tempo of the game, seeing just in-game adjustments at its finest.”
Like Young, Newton was once a No. 1 overall pick of the Panthers back in 2011. Newton experienced success during his rookie campaign, throwing for 4,051 yards, 21 touchdowns and 17 picks en route to a Pro Bowl appearance.
Newton feels that Young just needs to be patient.
“We all know any time you’re the first pick, that means you’re going to a [expletive] team,” said Newton. “I went through it. Peyton Manning went through it. All the No. 1 picks went through it. And this day in age, it’s about who and what can you do right now. But I think when you’re dealing with a talent like Bryce Young, it’s the long tenure rather than right-now success.”
Cam Newton spent 10 seasons across two separate tenures with the Panthers, leading the club to a Super Bowl appearance during the 2015-16 campaign. He also won the MVP award that season.
Young is on track to return to the field for his team’s Week 4 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.
