John Metchie and Bryce Young were teammates in college. Now, they are reuniting in the NFL.
John Metchie signed with the Carolina Panthers this offseason in free agency, a move that reunited him with his college QB.
Metchie played at Alabama with Bryce Young.
"It will be fun because there's probably a lot of natural instincts from how we learned to play the game in college that we'll both have," said Metchie. "That only helps when you're on the field and competing. That probably saves a lot of time on communication and things like that.
"I think football can be like a chess game. So I think versatility is huge in the sense of being able to adapt and counter and adjust to different schemes or whatever it is; and also styles of play, whether it is deep down the field when you have those opportunities or short.
"A big part of offense, too, is just taking what the defense gives you and not trying to force something that isn't there, so that takes versatility in itself."
Metchie appeared in nine games with the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles last season. He put up 29 receptions for 256 yards and two touchdowns.
The 25-year-old Metchie was the 44th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He has played for the Houston Texans, Jets and Eagles. Metchie enters next season with 73 receptions for 686 yards and three touchdowns.
While the Panthers did make the playoffs last season, they lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round and the jury is still out on Young, who probably won't get an extension from Carolina this offseason.
Young has 8,291 passing yards, 49 passing touchdowns, 30 interceptions, 718 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns in a Carolina uniform. He put up 3,011 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 216 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns last season.
The Panthers did pick up the fifth-year option on Young's contract, but unless the QB wins a Super Bowl with Carolina, the Panthers will always be criticized for giving up too much for Young, who is only 14-30-0 in the NFL.
Young and Panthers head coach Dave Canales have come a long way from 2024, when Young was benched for Andy Dalton. The two are now connected at the hip and in charge of leading the Panthers to the promised land one day.
"There was an emotional strain. I could feel that," Canales said of his relationship with Young, via Fox Sports. "I know because it was a hard decision. I know Bryce could feel that because of how this impacted him directly, and everybody else can feel it. It's like, ‘Oh, this seems like a big deal.’ But it's like, ‘OK, this is the decision that was made. But how do we get better today?’ And so there's, like, a daily focus on improvement. Bryce is wired that way.
"He never wavered on that part, so that when his opportunity came back, he was that much better."
2026 is the biggest year of Young's NFL career. Let's see how he does.
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