The One Thing the Panthers Must Avoid in 2024

If anything, the development of Bryce Young has to get off the ground this fall.

Dec 31, 2023; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) throws the ball against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth quarter at EverBank Stadium. Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports / Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports

It's been seven years since the Carolina Panthers made the playoffs, and it's been equally as long since the franchise had a winning season. Since the start of the 2019 season - the year that began a string of five-win campaigns - the Panthers have the worst record in the entire NFL (24-59).

This offseason, it felt like the organization got a lot right for once. They hired a young and brilliant offensive mind to develop the quarterback they took first overall in last year's draft, ensured the entire staff was on the same page as far as philosophy and scheme, and made it an emphasis to surround Bryce Young with as much help as possible.

For things to finally turn in Charlotte, they have to get the quarterback situation ironed out. I know this is pretty obvious stuff here, but if Young doesn't work out the dark clouds hovering over Bank of America Stadium will continue to linger for several years.

The goal, the main hope for the Panthers this season is that Young takes a noticeable step in the right direction. Even if it comes in the midst of winning just a handful of games, the light has to come on at some point and it should be pretty noticeable when that happens, too. You know, like remaining calm and delivering in a big situation to win a game or give his team a fighting chance.

I don't like writing players off after just two years in the league, but it's incredibly rare that a quarterback eventually establishes himself as a franchise guy if he hasn't done so after two full years of starting.

Avoiding that disastrous situation as a bigger win than any they can chalk up on the 2024 schedule. I understand that it has to materialize on the field, but this is why I applaud David Tepper and Dan Morgan for hiring what appears to be the perfect guy to get Young going. He's a coach that meets you where you are versus trying to accelerate the process to make up for lost time. When things get bumpy, and they will, he'll be able to keep Young's mind in the right place.

"My approach with Bryce is it doesn't feel like a fix-it project at all," Canales told WFNZ back in February, "For me, what I see is an accurate passer. I see a guy who's got courage in the pocket. I see a guy who pops back up and just keeps rockin'. He's just built and wired that way. So for me, it's no different than any other quarterback. Like, what are the fundamental things? What are the most basic fundamentals that he can sink his teeth into to just take the next step into improvement. I want to make sure that he understands and I want to make sure that everybody understands the way the quarterback position is supposed to be played is you do your one-eleventh. You just do your job. And the talent, the innate ability, the first overall pick -- all that ability will fill up and we'll need those special plays three to five times a game. But we don't need it on every single snap. We just need him to be able to understand what we're trying to get done and just do his part in it. And I think that really is an approach that I've taken with a bunch of guys to alleviate that stress of having to carry something."

He gets it. The Panthers don't need Young to throw for thirty touchdowns and 5,000 yards to prove he's their future. He just has to be a better quarterback in October than he was in September, better in November than he was in October, and so on. If you have the same feeling about him going into next offseason, well, mission failed.

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