Bryce Young couldn’t do a three-step drop this offseason without seeing someone pointing out that the 2026 NFL season was going to be a big one for his career.
It seemed that whenever someone brought up the Carolina Panthers, that was the topic of conversation. How would the quarterback grow? Would he earn a big contract extension?
And sure, it’s not incorrect. Young is in the fourth year of his rookie deal after being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
He’ll have his fifth-year option season with Carolina in 2027, an option the Panthers already activated, and then his future after that is uncertain.
If the Panthers don’t like what they see, they could eventually let Young reach free agency.
But if Young looks more like a franchise quarterback, he could earn a long-term, big-money extension sometime before next season.
So yeah, a big year.
And on Sunday, Young got off to a big start.
Bryce Young Stats
In the highest-scoring game in the history of Week 1, the Panthers lost to the Chicago Bears, 59-37.
The defense was at fault for the Panthers, clearly, but Young played at a very high level for much of the game.
He finished 23-for-37 passing for 361 yards and threw three touchdowns. He was intercepted once and sacked twice, finishing with a quarterback rating of 110.3.
Young was particularly potent when throwing to Jalen Coker, who caught 8-of-9 targets for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Young threw an absolute dime down the left sideline to lead Coker perfectly in stride on a 51-yard touchdown.
After a slow start, Tetairoa McMillan also caught Young’s attention and ended up with five catches for 75 yards.
If Young is going to take advantage of this potentially big season, it’s going to be by throwing to those two leading receivers, and he showed he’s very comfortable doing that on Sunday.
What This Means
Discussions in Carolina this week will center around a defense that gave up 59 points, and that’s fair, but they also won’t face QB Caleb Williams and offensive guru Ben Johnson every week.
This game by Young is notable, too, because it’s not the kind of day he has had too often in his NFL career. Down the stretch of last season, he looked more capable of such performances, but to burst out of the gate like this in Week 1 is an incredible statement.
At his size and with his inconsistent career, Young will remain a tricky evaluation as far as just how much he would deserve to be paid in a long-term contract.
But if he keeps having days with 361 passing yards, Carolina is going to know the answer to the question. That would certainly earn Young a deal.
It’s still a big year for Young, and he’s going to have to keep it up. The first step he took of the season, though — he took it in the right direction.
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