Andy Dalton to Start For Panthers vs. Bills Regardless of Bryce Young's Injury Status

The Carolina Panthers will turn to veteran Andy Dalton as the team's starting quarterback for a Week 8 matchup with the Buffalo Bills.

A Panthers spokesperson revealed Friday that Dalton will start against the Bills regardless of signal-caller Bryce Young's availability, per Joe Person of The Athletic.

Young has started in the first seven games of the season for Carolina, but suffered an ankle sprain in the third quarter of its 13-6 win over the New York Jets in Week 7.

He was listed as doubtful for the team's upcoming battle with the Bills after he didn't participate in practice on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.

Panthers head coach Dave Canales discussed Young's injury status.

"He's made progress every day, and we want to just keep our options open right now," Canales said Friday, per Darin Gantt of the team's official website. "Didn't want to rule him out, just wanted to say, OK, you woke up today, it was better than you did yesterday, so tomorrow we'll move around. We rested it pretty good today. We had two good days of work on that ankle, so we'll take a look at it again tomorrow, and then we'll make the best decision from there."

Young has made steady progress on the field during his third year in Carolina, completing a career-high 61.6 percent of his throws for 1,288 yards and 11 touchdowns compared to five interceptions. His average of 184 pass yards per game is also a personal-best mark.

The Panthers will be hoping that Young doesn't miss too much time, as they're currently sitting at 4-3 with all four of their wins coming in their past five games.

As for Dalton, the 37-year-old has already appeared in three contests for Carolina as a reserve this year. He's completed 69.2 percent of his passes for 118 yards and a touchdown without getting picked off.

Dalton has a tough task ahead of him, as Buffalo owns the NFL's No. 2 pass defense this season by allowing a mere 167.2 yards per game through the air.

Kickoff between the Bills and Panthers is on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.