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CHARLOTTE (CHARLOTTE SPORTS LIVE) — The Carolina Panthers sit four days out from opening up the 2024 NFL preseason with a trip to New England.
Eager to put the 2-15 season in the past, the success of the Dave Canales era will largely hinge on the play of second-year quarterback Bryce Young.
Canales said he has yet to decide how much, if at all, Young will play in the Panthers’ three preseason games.
Regardless of Young’s preseason workload, his trust in the staff and the long-term plan remains steadfast.
As does his head coach’s belief in him, who’s seeing all the right steps taken to learn from his rookie season.
“He was like, ‘Think about all the lessons I learned this year. I talked to him about [how] you got 16 games under your belt moving forward here. So there’s some carryover with some stuff, you know, but it was just about looking forward,” Canales said. “It’s about just taking each step of the way, trusting the process, and that’s what he’s really bought into, just like, just today matters, and he can continue to show that ability to just take the new information, take the little adjustments, and just incorporate that to his game.”
General manager Dan Morgan made an effort to make Young’s life easier, adding a top-end wide receiver in Diontae Johnson and drafting a potential stud in the making, former South Carolina standout Xavier Legette.
But more importantly, an offensive line that gave up 62 sacks a year ago, is now re-tooled up the middle, spending significant money to bring in guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, with Austin Corbett sliding to center, seeing first-hand a new approach from his QB in Year No. 2.
“Rookie year, you’re always just kind of flooded with information and last year was nothing short of that,” Corbett said. “And so for him just to come in, come out with a quieter mind of understanding just the flow of the NFL and just his ability to lead and the simplicity of the offense and just making it just one thing for him.”
Year two is a big one for Young. He’ll be the first to admit that.
But whatever happens from here on out for the Panthers’ QB, it will not be from a lack of trying.
“Having a year under my belt, feeling more comfortable, having more experiences, I think it’s just on me, obviously there’s stuff on the field and I’m growing in the same thing leadership wise making sure that I’m taking steps there,” Young said. “Doing whatever it is that’s best for the team and I think that’s been a common theme of what I’ve always been working towards at previous levels.
The Panthers will play the Patriots to open the preseason Thursday at 7 p.m.
