While the Carolina Panthers recently picked up the fifth-year option for 2027 attached to Bryce Young’s contract, it has seemed for months that the club isn’t all that interested in signing him to a long-term extension this offseason.
During a Thursday appearance on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio, Panthers general manager Dan Morgan offered an update on Young’s status with the organization.
Panthers having conversations about signing Bryce Young to an extension?
“In terms of long-term contract, that’s something that we’re talking about here internally, and we’ll do it at the right time,” Morgan said about Young, per Kevin Patra of the NFL’s website.
Young’s career has been filled with ups and downs since the Panthers made him the first overall pick of the 2023 draft. Most recently, he helped Carolina claim the NFC South division title for the 2025 campaign, and he then nearly earned an upset victory over the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
That said, Carolina finished the regular season with a record of 8-9 and only qualified for the postseason via a tiebreaker advantage. Additionally, Young was far from elite throughout portions of the campaign. Pro Football Reference shows that he ended Week 18 ranked 25th in the NFL among qualified players with a 47.6 adjusted QBR and tied for 26th with an 87.8 passer rating.
Nevertheless, Morgan insisted that he and others within the Panthers believe “the arrow is up with Bryce” this spring.
Panthers believe the best is yet to come for Bryce Young?
“Obviously, he came into a really rough situation in terms of coaching staff, maybe you could say the talent around him wasn’t great, as well,” Morgan said about the difficult start to Young’s career. “So to come in as a rookie and come into a really tough situation where we had a coaching change, a lot of shuffling around the building, for [current Panthers head coach Dave Canales] to come in here and provide stability, for him to be in the system now going on three years in a row, I think you see him just getting better and better every single year. Understanding the offense, he’s such a good processor, and just a guy that’s a pleasure to have around the building every day. As you see him mature, you see him become a better leader every single year. The operation’s getting faster every year.”
Of course, actions usually speak louder than words as it pertains to these types of situations. If Young doesn’t ink a multiyear deal before September, that may show that Morgan and Co. want to see the 24-year-old make a big leap before the franchise makes a real financial commitment to him.