This Carolina Panthers player has the chance to be the face of Charlotte sports now.
The future of Charlotte sports changed over the past week due to an NBA trade that changed the direction of the Hornets for the next few years.
The Hornets opted to trade point guard LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves, ending the Ball era after six seasons. The former No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft provided some big moments for the Hornets, including helping lead them to the playoffs this past season.
But now that the era is over and Ball is out of Charlotte, the landscape for the franchise has changed. And a new face of Charlotte sports is here.
With the trade completed, a longtime reporter suggests a new face for Charlotte sports and it's Bryce Young.
Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer wrote on the Ball trade and offered up the suggestion that Young is now the face of Charlotte sports:
Bryce will never be as glitzy as Cam [Newton] or LaMelo. But he did direct the Panthers to the playoffs last season, the first time since 2017 they had made it. He’s become an extremely clutch player, leading game-winning drives in six of Carolina’s eight wins last season.
Young is also still only 24 years old and he’s going to be here a while. A former Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall draft pick, he’s already under contract through the 2027 season. It’d be a shock if the Panthers don’t extend him well beyond that.
Being a No. 1 overall pick and a quarterback, all of the attention is on you. We've seen that with Young early in his career already including being benched before regaining his starting spot.
Young helped the Panthers reach the playoffs by winning the NFC South a year ago and while his season was solid, it still leaves questions about his long-term future. The 2026 season will be an important one for Young despite having that fifth-year option picked up. He needs to prove he is going to be here for the long term and if that's the case, then he will certainly be the face of Charlotte spots.
