Carolina Panthers rookie Bryce Young entered organized team activities this spring as the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart. But will he be exiting them that way?
Well, if Thursday was the start of something new, then the No. 1 overall pick is already No. 1.
As noted by several reporters this morning, Young opened the latest practice session with the first-team offense. Prior to this development, the 21-year-old passer had been taking snaps behind 13-year veteran Andy Dalton.
Another step in the Bryce Young era. The Panthers rookie is taking the first snaps with the first-team offense for the first time today (at least in practices open to the media). He had about three weeks behind Andy Dalton during OTAs.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) June 8, 2023
Head coach Frank Reich said the following at the end of rookie minicamp last month regarding the team’s outlook under center:
“Yeah, Bryce will get a lot of reps,” he told reporters. “As we said—when he’s ready, when it’s best for the team, that’s when we’ll look to make a transition. Right now, we come back out Monday, Andy will be taking reps with the 1’s, Bryce will be with the 2’s.
“Bryce is gonna get a lot of reps. Likely even get a few more than Andy, just as the new guy. And the good thing with Andy is, he’s logged a lot in the last few weeks and as a savvy veteran, he still needs to work. But we’ll focus on getting Bryce, as the younger player, focused on getting him as many reps as we can.”
Those reps have now jumped up to, and may even stick, the starting offense.
