David Tepper’s Carolina Panthers have never had a definitive answer under center . . . perhaps until now.
Quarterback Bryce Young finished his emergent 2024 campaign with a career day against the Atlanta Falcons this afternoon. The second-year passer connected on 25 of his 34 throws for 251 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 24 more yards and two more scores in Carolina’s 44-38 overtime win.
NFL Network national reporter Cameron Wolfe caught up with Tepper after the game, and the team owner had something very interesting (and probably quite relieving) to say . . .
Caught up with Panthers owners David and Nicole Tepper briefly after their team’s win over Falcons – both had wide smiles.
David Tepper told me: “A real good win. I think we’ve got our QB here.”
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) January 5, 2025
Since Tepper purchased the franchise back in 2018, the Panthers have rolled out nine different starting quarterbacks. That seven-year span has resulted in zero playoff appearances for Carolina, the longest such drought in their history.
Tepper and the Panthers sought to put an emphatic end to their quarterback conundrum two springs ago, when they traded a king’s ransom to acquire the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 draft. That pick would eventually be Young—who went on to have a disappointing rookie campaign and then a disastrous two-game start to 2024.
Young, who was benched at the beginning of Week 3, would return to the starting lineup in Week 8. Since then, he’s completed 61.8 percent of his passing attempts for 2,104 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions while leading the Panthers to a 4-6 mark.
