The previous time that Dan Morgan held a press conference, the Carolina Panthers general manager told reporters the NFL team would have “conversations once the season ends, and we’ll see where we’re at” on quarterback Bryce Young.

That was on Nov. 7, four days after Young had made his second start in a return from a five-game benching.

Carolina’s season ended on Sunday, and eight starts by Young later, Morgan held another press conference on Monday. The planned conversions about Young’s future with the Panthers proved unnecessary.

“I always had the belief that Bryce was going to reach his potential,” Morgan said. “How that happened or when that came, I wasn’t sure, but I knew it was in there. And I think when he was benched, you know, I thought that was an opportunity for him to kind of sit back and just kind of take a deep breath, and after a long previous season and first tough couple games, I think was a really good thing for him in the long run. And, hey, to his credit, he’s come out and he’s really turned the page on that. And we all feel really good about him being our quarterback of the future.”

Carolina traded for the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to obtain Young. The former Alabama All-American started 16 games as a rookie. The Panthers won two games in 2023, and when Carolina scored 13 points in losing its first two games of 2024, veteran Andy Dalton replaced Young in the lineup.

After Dalton made five starts, he sustained a thumb injury in a traffic accident that put Young back on the field. But Morgan said on Monday the plan always had been for Young to start again.

“There was definitely a plan,” Morgan said, “and there was no giving up on Bryce.”

Young started the final 10 games of the season. With a 1-6 record when Young returned to the lineup, Carolina won four times, and the second-year QB threw 15 touchdown passes (against six interceptions) and ran for six TDs.

Carolina closed its season on Sunday with a 44-38 overtime victory against the Atlanta Falcons. Young threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more in the Panthers’ highest-scoring game since a 45-21 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Nov. 13, 2017, when Carolina QB Cam Newton threw for four touchdowns and ran for 95 yards.

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“I think we all saw Bryce in college,” Morgan said. “I mean, he won the Heisman Trophy for a reason. You know, he’s an electric player. He’s somebody that can extend plays. He can hurt you with his legs. He can hurt you with his arm. And that’s the same Bryce that we saw at Alabama.

“And I’m just so proud of him for putting the work in, taking the coaching and being a resilient player that he is, so I think everybody saw on display what Bryce is capable of, not just yesterday, but in previous games, too. I think he’s just scratching the surface, and I know that he’s going to put the work in to get better and better. And I’m just really excited about his future, and I’m excited for him.”

Young was asked on Monday about the change in the team’s attitude about his future with it.

“I don’t know if vindication’s the word,” Young said. “I always try to control what I control and just try to be the best version of myself every single day. And I’m going to continue to chase that. Yesterday, I think, just as a team, was a good day, for sure.

“But there’s a lot of stuff that, you know, we want to get better at, we want to improve at, that we want to work at, that I want to work at. And every day I’m just going to be having the approach of being grateful for the opportunity, grateful for God just giving us that chance.

“And then just having the attitude to want to improve, wanting to get better, wanting to embrace the good and the bad and grow from it, and that was something that was a big theme for this entire year, and is definitely going to be a theme moving forward.”

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