Bryce Young’s future depends on the season ahead.
This is the season when the Carolina Panthers will likely have to decide whether to give their quarterback a long-term extension or not.
Yes, he’s a former No. 1 overall pick, and yes, he got the Panthers to the playoffs last season.
But as anyone who has watched Young’s career so far can tell you, it’s not that simple.
Young has outlier size, on the small size, for an NFL QB. He’s been benched multiple times. He’s had long stretches when he struggles.
But occasionally, like in some magical fourth quarters last season, Young looks like a guy who could be a franchise quarterback.
So yeah, soon enough it’ll be decision time.
The quirky variable for Young is that this season will look different from the ones that have come before. He’s got a new playcaller.
Bryce Young Needs To Mesh With Brad Idzik
Brad Idzik is entering his third season as the offensive coordinator as the Panthers, but for the past two years, he took a back seat.
Head coach Dave Canales handled play-calling duties for Carolina’s offense in 2024 and 2025, to varying degrees of success and failure.
This offseason, Canales didn’t go anywhere, but he decided to hand over the reins of the offense to Idzik. It’s a big move.
Idzik hadn’t called plays before. It’s a major promotion, even if his title doesn’t change.
“Idzik is new to playcalling, but he’s not new to Young,” ESPN’s Mike Kaye wrote in a new feature article on Thursday. “The coordinator, now in his third year with the title, will take control of those playcalling duties after inheriting the job from coach Dave Canales this offseason. And with a new voice in the quarterback’s helmet on game days, the hope is that Young — with a lucrative contract extension at stake — will flourish during the biggest season of his NFL career and the Panthers will make another postseason run.”
The preseason is a tough time to know how the connection is working, of course. The heat of a key regular season game will turn up the pressure considerably.
Still, it was important for Young and Idzik to get on the same page in the preseason so they can hit the ground running when Week 1 arrives.
“Maybe things will work out better than they did when Canales was steering the offense,” Kaye writes. “Maybe they won’t. But for Young and Idzik, the table is set for a collaboration that could pay off huge for both of them in short order.”
Bryce Young Contract Details
Young is entering the fourth year of his rookie deal in 2026. He also had his fifth-year option exercised, so he’ll be under contract with the Panthers through 2027.
The longer the wait goes, though, the harder it will be to get an extension done. Young can make a strong case for himself if he begins the 2026 season in a good place.
It’s also not clear whether he’d be up for negotiations that take place during the regular season or not. At some point, though, the Panthers and Young are going to have to consider whether they have a future together.
Panthers’ Bryce Young Dealing With Critical Change