Bryce Young completes his first NFL offseason program
The No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft completed his first NFL offseason program on Wednesday, and quarterback Bryce Young said he appreciated the way his new teammates with the Carolina Panthers had made him feel at home so quickly.
“I’m really grateful just to be embraced like I have,” Young said on Wednesday. “I’m super grateful to be a part of this team. I’m learning a lot every day. I’m trying to do everything I can to help the team, so for me, that’s really what I’m focused on. …
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“There’s a lot of guys here who had a lot of success and played a lot of snaps of NFL football. Them welcoming me, who’s never played a snap before, trying to prove himself and trying to do everything he can to help the team, them embracing me and all the rookies, all the free agents, all the guys that are new here. It’s a new group, but it doesn’t feel like it in the locker room. It doesn’t feel like it in the huddle, so I think we’ve all grown more comfortable with one another. There’s still a lot of stuff we want to iron out, stuff we want to improve on and get better at, but I think we lean on each other for that.”
The Panthers added the Alabama All-American to kick off the 88th NFL Draft on April 27. The biggest difference for him between draft night and the final day of mandatory minicamp, Young said, was his “comfortability.”
“Thanks for that goes to my coaching staff,” Young said, “just a lot more reps on tape, a lot of great coaching, a lot of understanding, a lot more time in the system and my teammates embracing me, pushing me, holding me accountable. When things go well, we’re able to talk about it and see why and try to maintain that. When things don’t, being able to regroup and talk about it. We all take responsibility here. It’s a great group of guys that all look in the mirror first.”
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The Panthers used three starting quarterbacks last season, but they cleaned house in January. All those quarterbacks are gone, as are most of the coaches, with Frank Reich taking the reins as the new head coach.
In free agency, Carolina brought in 12-year veteran Andy Dalton as the No. 1 quarterback until Young is deemed ready for that role. On Wednesday, Young declined to place himself on a measuring stick toward that.
“I’m not huge as far as long-term goals, long-term checklist or timeline,” Young said. “I try to take things day-by-day, and I base things day-by-day off the people that I’m around, off of my coaches, off of my teammates. What are we going to get better at tomorrow? How did this practice go? What do we want to improve at? What went well that we can stay consistent on and what stuff didn’t go as well that we want to improve on? And I think that’s a day-by-day thing. That changes every day.”
Reich has praised Young’s progress during the offseason, but it’s in training camp that the Panthers will find out what they got for their No. 1 pick, the coach said.
“We don’t have pads on,” Reich said on Wednesday. “We’re not competing at the highest level. That’s not just Bryce, that’s our whole team. …
“You get to OTAs, and it’s great. You get a good look at people, but you really don’t know until you put the pads on, so looking forward to that.”
The summer break started for the Panthers after Wednesday’s practice. They’ll be off until training camp starts late next month at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Young said he’ll be “working out, getting ready, continuing to get ready and try to build toward the season. And I view that as fun.”
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.