Jake Delhomme knows all about what it is to be in Bryce Young’s shoes.
The Carolina Panthers great was an unknown when he unexpectedly took over the starting job for the franchise during the 2003 season. After spending the first few seasons of his NFL career as an afterthought backup quarterback, Delhomme relieved an established veteran in Rodney Peete and led the Panthers to a Super Bowl appearance and a possession away from winning a championship in his first season as the starting quarterback.
Delhomme would go on to spend a total of seven seasons as the franchise quarterback, leading an annual contender with three playoff appearances.
Fast forward to now and Young is that guy. The fourth-year quarterback is obviously under a different microscope with different expectations as a No. 1 overall draft pick, but now expectations are considerably high considering the Panthers are the reigning division champs. After a hot start to the season, the Panthers have fizzled a bit, dropping their past two games to fall to 3-4.
Young is in the fourth year of his rookie deal and was in talks with the Panthers regarding a long-term extension. However, the team has taken a wait-and-see approach after exercising his fifth-year option for next season.
Jake Delhomme on Bryce Young: ‘I Love Everything About The Kid’
Delhomme — who is speaking on behalf of Gambling.com — said he thinks the world of Young, but said let’s wait to see how the season plays out before signing him to a big deal.
“Yeah, listen — I love everything about the kid,” said Delhomme in a one-on-one interview with Heavy Sports. “He is one of the greatest people in the world. He’s a great teammate, very accurate. Yes, he’s a smaller guy, and yes, we didn’t have success early on. We were not a good football team early on at all. We’ve gotten better around him, and he’s done some good things. And so, listen, this is year four. The option was picked up. He has a contract for next year, and so it’s still pretty good money. Let’s see how the season plays out and see what we can do around him and see where we go from there. But I mean, the way he played early on in the season, this guy was playing big boy football, really big boy football, and that’s a credit to him.”
Why Panthers Are Taking Wait-and-See Approach With Bryce Young
Young has had a solid start to the season, ranking within the top 10 in passing touchdowns and yards. However, he’s fizzled a bit in the past two seasons as Carolina has dropped two straight games in losses to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers. He has two touchdowns against three interceptions while posting passer ratings below 68.0 in each of the past two weeks.
His fifth-year option is worth $29.7 million next season, which puts him in the middle of the pack as far as quarterback salaries.
It’s clear that Young still has a bit to prove — especially on the consistency side — before the Panthers commit long term to him. But it’s clear that the potential is there and that he’s yet to reach his ceiling at the age of 25.
Panthers Great Jake Delhomme Gives His Blunt Take on Bryce Young