Fan sentiment about Bryce Young is all over the map right now. Depending what corner of the Internet or media that you look in, Young could be the clear future of the Carolina Panthers franchise or one
of the worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL. There have been reports that the Panthers intend to pick up his fifth year option, which is fine, but that should be the extent of any decisions made on Young’s future right now.
I know vibes are high right now. With the bye week, we’ve had two weeks to reminisce in the shock and joy of the Panthers’ upset win over the Rams. In that game, Young made a number of high leverage throws that haven’t been in his arsenal all that often. He hit Jalen Coker and Tetairoa McMillan with long passes over the top on fourth downs and won the game on a pass over the middle to Coker. The Panthers didn’t need him much, but he came through when it counted.
And that’s where the problem lies.
To be a consistent winner in the NFL, you need a quarterback that is able to elevate his team. He is the straw that stirs the drink, the engine that makes the team go. For most of Young’s three seasons, the Panthers have had more success when they’ve asked less of their quarterback. It’s good to be able to win without having to rely on your quarterback, but being able to do that doesn’t mean you don’t worry about having a good one under center. And you need to be able to count on that quarterback to come through week in and week out. Just about any quarterback can pop off on occasion. Practice squad quarterback Mike White has two games with over 350 yards passing. Zach Wilson has three 300 yard passing games. So does Jake Browning. “Flashes” don’t matter when they’re few and far between. “Flashes” don’t make good quarterbacks. Consistent play from game to game and down to down is what makes good quarterbacks.
Young was very good against the Falcons and the Rams. This is no attempt to discredit those performances. This is to say that those two games should not make us forget everything that has transpired up to this point. Lest we forget the two games that immediately preceded those games. In the wins over the Falcons and Rams in Weeks 11 and 13, Young posted QBRs of 73.6 and 85.8 respectively. Again, very good. Those were alternated withs QBRs of 14.5 in the home loss to the Saints in Week 10 and 13.9 in the Monday Night stinker against the 49ers in Week 12. Those are dreadful. Out of 414 rated games this season, those two performances are 384th and 385th. On the season, Young’s QBR is 23rd of 31 qualified quarterbacks, behind Spencer Rattler and Trevor Lawrence and just ahead of Jayden Daniels and Jacoby Brissett. I talked about Young’s rankings in a bunch of other stats a few weeks ago, and little has changed on that front since.
The Panthers obviously don’t have any other options right now, and Young’s last few weeks have at least given hope that he could feasibly show up enough to get the Panthers to the playoffs with the Buccaneers faltering. But this roller coaster is not a sustainable way to win. The Panthers will have Young under contract next season and seemingly on a mid-level salary the year after. They should not go further than that. A long term contract risks putting this team in a Giants-Daniel Jones situation where the organization is stuck with a quarterback that is never consistent enough to win anything but tantalizing enough that the organization is hesitant to move on.
The Panthers should look to bolster the quarterback room this offseason. Andy Dalton is on his last legs as a professional quarterback. The Panthers should bring in a veteran that could reasonably compete for a starting job, and they should keep on the lookout for a high upside quarterback in the mid to late rounds in the next couple of drafts.
