Bryce Young to Play for Panthers vs. Vikings After Missing 1 Game with Ankle Injury

Bryce Young will be back in action Sunday as the Carolina Panthers take on the Minnesota Vikings, the team announced Friday.

The No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft had to sit out of the Panthers' Week 3 loss against the Seattle Seahawks with an ankle injury that he suffered in Carolina's previous game against the New Orleans Saints, though he was able to finish that one out.

Veteran Andy Dalton filled in during his absence, throwing for 361 yards and two touchdowns.

Coach Frank Reich confirmed earlier in the week that Young was trending towards playing Sunday but wanted to see how he progressed.

It was basically confirmed after the former Alabama star practiced in full for the third-consecutive day Friday.

"I thought it was good," Reich said of Young's week. "Probably even better than I expected it to be. ... Bryce will be our quarterback."

Standing at just 5-foot-10, durability was a major concern for Young ahead of the NFL draft, with many evaluators worried if he'd be able to stay healthy at his size. And the early ankle ailment didn't do anything to reassure the doubters.

But the former Heisman winner made sure to emphasize that he wasn't rushing back to the field to prove naysayers wrong.

"It doesn't drive me at all,'' Young said, via ESPN's David Newton . "Good or bad, what people are going to say is out of my control. People are gonna have opinions. The beauty of sports we can have conversations and people are passionate and care and express that.''

Young's rookie campaign hasn't exactly gotten off to a dazzling start thus far as he has gone 0-2 in his starts and has passed for just 299 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.