Panthers' Bryce Young discusses bouncing back from rough rookie season

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young sounds ready to bounce back from the type of rookie season that could hover over any young athlete.

"The good, the bad, indifferent; making sure that myself, internally, I'm OK," Young explained about his mindset during a recent chat with David Newton of ESPN. "Luckily, I've been very conscious of that my whole life, so I've had a lot of practice compartmentalizing things and trying to have healthy habits."

Newton noted that Young's grandfather was a psychologist before the 22-year-old's father worked as a therapist in the mental health field and before Carolina made the signal-caller the first overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. 

With that said, such a family history couldn't have fully prepared Young for a rocky rookie season that featured rough performances from the former Alabama Crimson Tide star and included Panthers owner David Tepper firing head coach Frank Reich in late November.

According to Pro Football Reference, Young finished his first NFL regular season ranked 30th in the league among qualified players with a 33.4 adjusted QBR and tied for last with a 36.5% passing success rate. Over 16 starts, he tallied a 2-14 record and tossed 11 touchdown passes with 10 interceptions.

"As bad as last year was, and it was awful, do I think having a background in mental health and family helped him? One thousand percent," Craig Young, Bryce's father, said about the quarterback who graduated with a degree in psychology.

It's also worth noting that the Panthers spent much of the offseason making moves with Young in mind. 

Carolina hired Dave Canales as its head coach after he helped quarterback Baker Mayfield become a Comeback Player of the Year candidate last season while serving as offensive coordinator with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Panthers later signed guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, traded for wide receiver Diontae Johnson and spent a first-round draft pick on receiver Xavier Legette.

Meanwhile, Young seemingly spent portions of the spring putting last season behind him as he worked to improve aspects of his game.

"I'm far from perfect,'' Young acknowledged. "We all have our struggles and things, and we have good and bad days. But it's like any season, it's important during a time when there's a lot going on and a lot of stressful situations, knowing that's a time to make sure I really don't lose sight of things mentally.''

As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Panthers' over/under win total for the 2024 season at just 5.5. Young's long-term future with the organization could become an interesting talking point if Carolina finishes Week 18 at 5-12 or worse.