Panthers' Bryce Young among 5 NFL quarterbacks fighting for their future in 2025

After a disappointing start to his career and 2024 in particular, Bryce Young hit the bench. The Carolina Panthers QB looked as if he was done for in the NFL, but a return to the starting lineup after five on the bench saw him break out and look every part of a franchise QB.

He was so good that head coach Dave Canales, GM Dan Morgan, and others swore up and down that they'd found their guy at quarterback. NFL media members, for some reason, still seem to disagree, including Sportsnaut's Mateo Bratt, who says Young is fighting for his NFL life this year.

Bryce Young has a lot to prove for the Panthers after a rocky start to his NFL career. His poor play led to him being temporarily benched last season. Young needs to show real growth and prove he’s the franchise quarterback Carolina envisioned," he said. "He’s shown flashes, but if he doesn’t take a major step forward this season, the Panthers could start looking at other options."

Young showed mastery of Canales' system from Weeks 8-18 last year, and was graded out as a top-half QB. During the final few weeks, he was a top-10 quarterback, but that was apparently not enough to sway the NFL public.

Plus, he did that with a historically bad defense opposite him and a lackluster offense where he routinely had to throw to David Moore and Tommy Tremble. It wasn't pretty, but Young still excelled, so maybe he has solidified his future with the Panthers already.