Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young had a very rough rookie campaign, which is why the Panthers have brought in Dave Canales as their new head coach.
Canales is known for his superb work with quarterbacks, so Carolina is obviously hoping he can help make things easier for Young in his sophomore season.
The first-year coach already has big plans for Young in 2024, and he says it is going to be a team effort.
“I think it’s not about surrounding Bryce with great players; it’s about building a great team, and then Bryce can just do his part of it,” Canales said, via Darin Gantt of the Panthers’ official team website. “That’s my goal. That’s my heart for this whole thing. I want him to be able to feel like he can just come and just do his 1/11th. If he can just do his part, look at the great teams he was a part of in Alabama. He won a lot of games when they had a good offense and a good defense. He did his part, and he played big in big moments, and I would love to create that here so he can just do that part of it and not make it about him.”
Young was selected by the Panthers with the No. 1 overall pick of last year’s NFL Draft.
The 22-year-old made 16 starts during his debut campaign, throwing for 2,877 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing 59.8 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 73.7.
What made things even tougher for Young is that C.J. Stroud, who was taken by the Houston Texans at No. 2 last spring, enjoyed one of the best rookie seasons a quarterback has ever had.
But in Young’s defense, he wasn’t exactly set up for success in Year 1.
Adam Thielen represented his only truly dependable target, and Carolina’s offensive line was brutal, resulting in Young being sacked 62 times.
The good news is that the Panthers went out and acquired wide receiver Diontae Johnson in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers last month, so heading into next season, Young actually has a couple of fine receivers to work with in Thielen and Johnson, plus one with potential in Jonathan Mingo.
We’ll see if Canales can make good things happen with Bryce Young come September.
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