Panthers HC Dave Canales explains Bryce Young decision for Chiefs game

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales confirmed that second-year quarterback Bryce Young will start when 3-7 Carolina hosts the 9-1 Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. 

Canales expanded on why the previously benched Young is getting a fourth-consecutive start coming off the team's bye. 

"This is about the continued progress, Bryce looking more and more confident,'' Canales explained, as shared by David Newton of ESPN. "Just an aggressiveness to his play...and of course the end result, winning. He continues to do things to put us in a position to put him back out there and continue to build on that.''

The first overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, Young endured a rough rookie season with Carolina and then was arguably the league's worst QB1 of the ongoing campaign's first two weeks before Canales turned to veteran Andy Dalton. Dalton started through Week 7 but then suffered a thumb injury in a car accident, and Young most recently guided Carolina to back-to-back victories. 

Across his last three starts, Young completed 62.5 percent of his pass attempts for 521 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions.

Interestingly, Anthony Rizzuti of Panthers Wire/USA Today noted that Canales declined to say that Young will remain Carolina's starter through the remainder of the season. Canales will instead "look at the whole situation" on a week-by-week basis, which suggests Young could once again be relegated to backup duties if he struggles against the reigning Super Bowl champions, who won their first nine games of the campaign. 

As of Monday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Panthers as massive 11-point underdogs for the Week 12 matchup versus the Chiefs. 

Whispers about the Panthers possibly making Young available before this year's trade deadline arose shortly after he was first benched. If Canales sits the healthy 23-year-old who needs additional reps again before Week 18, that could indicate the franchise's current regime wants to prevent Young from suffering any type of injury that could keep would-be buyers from calling about his services before the opening night of the 2025 draft.