Bryce Young Rumors on Contract Option Decision, Panthers Future Ahead of NFL Offseason

Ahead of Saturday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that could determine the NFC South champion, the Carolina Panthers have likely already made their decision on Bryce Young's fifth-year option.

Appearing on Saturday's episode of SportsCenter (starts at 1:10 mark), ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported the "sense" from the Panthers is they will exercise Young's option for 2027 this offseason, but will "most likely" wait on giving him a long-term extension.

It has been expected for some time that Young's option would get picked up. Over the Cap projects he will earn a fully guaranteed $26.5 million on the fifth year of his rookie deal.

ESPN's David Newton noted on Dec. 11 that how Young performed over the final four games of the regular season would be "crucial" in the Panthers deciding whether or not they wanted to offer him a long-term extension.

While there's still one game to go during this closing stretch of the regular season, Young's play the past three weeks hasn't offered much clarity to the Panthers.

Young threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers in Weeks 15 and 16, but had just 54 yards on 24 attempts in Week 17 against the Seattle Seahawks.

The last quarterback to have fewer passing yards with at least 24 attempts in a game was David Woodley in 1980. Even factoring in that the Seahawks have arguably the best defense in the NFL, it was a rough outing for Young.

Young has only had three games with at least 200 passing yards in 15 starts. The Panthers are 1-2 during this three game stretch, but they can clinch the NFC South for the first time since 2015 with a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 18.

If the Panthers lose to the Bucs, they could still win the division if the Atlanta Falcons defeat the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.