The Carolina Panthers opened their practice on Thursday to media members, and those attending saw something different than when they visited the NFL team’s practice facility last week: Rookie quarterback Bryce Young took the opening snaps with the first-team offense.

Young joined the Panthers from Alabama as the first player picked in the NFL Draft on April 27, but he slotted into the Carolina depth chart behind 12-year veteran Andy Dalton as the NFL team cleaned out last year’s quarterbacks room for a fresh start under new coach Frank Reich.

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Neither Reich nor Young made a big deal about the rookie’s work as the No. 1 QB at this week’s practices.

“For right now, that was our move,” Reich said on Thursday. “There’s really nothing more to say other than this was the time we had earmarked to make a move. We made the move. We’ll just keep progressing, and we’re always going to do what’s best for the team.”

Young said it didn’t matter when and with whom he got his reps as long as he got them so he could continue to learn and grow.

“For me, it’s just about attacking every day and trying to do everything I can to get better for the team, us as a team, us as a unit, pushing ourselves to accomplish our goals,” Young said on Thursday. “Regardless of where that’s at, that’s up to the coaches. That’s out of my hands. I just want to show up every day and do all I can to help the team.”

Young’s use in this week’s practices doesn’t mean the Panthers are ready to name the rookie as the starting quarterback for their season-opener against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 10, Reich said.

“He’s showing everything you want to see,” Reich said. “But we don’t have to – again this goes back to even the draft decision. You don’t make a decision until you have to make it. We’ll just keep giving him and our team the opportunity to get better and earn that starting role. So far, he and a lot of our guys are taking the steps needed to earn that spot. But we don’t have to make that decision yet, so we’ll kind of keep chugging along here.”

Carolina has three practice dates next week remaining on its offseason program before the Panthers break for the summer until gathering for training camp next month.

“What we continue to need to see is he and everybody else continue to improve and find ways to get better,” Reich said. “And we’re seeing that from Bryce, we’re seeing that from Andy, seeing that from all the guys.”

Dalton is a three-time Pro Bowl selection, but after playing his first nine seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, he’s on his fourth team in four years in Carolina.

“Andy’s been amazing,” Young said. “I’ve been able to throw all my questions at him, bounce a bunch of stuff off him. He tells me how he processes things, how he sees things. We’ve had a lot of conversations, and I definitely am grateful for him to be here, to have him here and to learn from him, to keep learning from him day in and day out. I learn stuff from him every day whether it’s the meeting room or the practice field. I’m super grateful to have him here.”

Reich said Young had adapted well to a new playbook.

“Obviously had very high expectations as far as mentally, and those expectations have been met,” Reich said. “But he’s like everybody else, it’s a new offense, especially some of the stuff that we’re doing that he’s not done before. There’s a lot that we’re doing that he has done before.

“I hope it’s been challenging to him. I think it has been. And he’s like everybody else out here, you run enough plays, you’re going to make some mistakes and learn from them. He’s been great about that.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.