Bryce Young Doesn't Have 'Timeline' to Start as Rookie, Panthers GM Fitterer Says

Carolina fans expecting to see Bryce Young on the field for the Panthers' 2023 season opener might be disappointed.

GM Scott Fitterer said the team has not yet decided when the 2023 first overall pick will make his Panthers debut, per Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.

"We're going to rely on our coaches—Jim Caldwell, Frank Reich, Thomas Brown—to decide when it's right," Fitterer said. "We don't have a timeline. We're not saying, 'Hey, this guy's gonna start the first game or we're not going to play him at all this year.' When the time is right or we felt like he's got enough of a mastery of the offense where he can go out and operate this and be successful, that's when he'll be out there."

Fitterer said Andy Dalton, who started six games for the Chicago Bears last season, is currently considered the Panthers' starting quarterback.

"We went out and signed Andy Dalton for a reason," said Fitterer. "He played as a rookie. He's got a lot of experience. He understands his role and he can play good football. If Andy's the guy to start the season, and he's the starter right now heading into the season, then he'll be the guy."

Fitterer added that Young will be competing with Matt Corral for the role. Corral, a 2022 third-round pick, missed the entire 2022 campaign due to injury.

"When Bryce is ready or Matt Corral is ready whoever it may be, that'll be the time they go in," said Fitterer. "We say it's open competition, but [head coach] Frank [Reich] did say, 'Hey, Andy's he's our guy right now. He'll walk into the season as the starter and then as you know, the young guys compete underneath him, then they'll go in when they're ready.'"

The last two quarterbacks to be selected with the first overall pick, Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence, each made their NFL debuts in the opening week of their first regular season. The Panthers, however, are understandably cautious about throwing Young in too early.

The Panthers last made it to the playoffs in 2017. In the five seasons since then, Carolina has cycled through eight starting quarterbacks (Cam Newton, Taylor Heinicke, Kyle Allen, Will Grier, Terry Bridgewater, P.J. Walker, Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield.)

The last franchise quarterback the Panthers developed was Newton, who they selected with the first overall pick of the 2011 draft. That year, Carolina announced on September 2, nine days before Week 1, that Newton had successfully beaten out Jimmy Clausen and Derek Anderson for the QB1 spot.

If Young is going to start the Panthers' season opener, Carolina is likely to similarly wait until early fall to decide, giving the team time to see how the former Alabama signal caller is progressing. Carolina is hoping the team finally has its next franchise quarterback, and rushing his development could have significant consequences for the organization's future.