Panthers Insider Says Bryce Young Developed 'Sloppy Fundamentals' Under Frank Reich

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young appears to be on an upward trajectory entering his third year in the NFL, but he had to overcome a tough start to his career.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Turron Davenport spoke to a Panthers team source who revealed some details about the hardships Young faced in his rookie year under former head coach Frank Reich, saying that the 24-year-old "developed poor habits with footwork, sloppy fundamentals and overall preparation in his season with Reich's staff."

Much to his detriment, Young was thrown into the fire after being selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL draft. He was playing behind a subpar offensive line, but he still averaged 33 pass attempts per game and was sacked a whopping 62 times, the second-highest total in the league that year.

Reich was fired just 10 games into the 2023 season after Carolina started with a 1-9 record before ultimately finishing 2-15. A team source told Fowler and Davenport that they "felt Reich never 'truly bought in' to [offensive coordinator Thomas] Brown's plan of attack; another believed the staff featured 'too many cooks in the kitchen' preparing Young.

Reich, who is now the interim head coach at Stanford, admitted that he and his staff didn't do enough to make things easier for Young.

"I don't know if that ultimately ended up being fair to Bryce," Reich said of the blending of systems. "It wasn't because of Thomas. He brought an 'A' game every day. Myself and the other guys that were with me, we were doing the same thing. In many respects, we brought it together the best we could. It probably made it a little more difficult for Bryce."

Young showed improvements toward the end of the 2024 season that fuel confidence in his chances to reach new heights in his second year under head coach Dave Canales in 2025.