An NFL analyst believes that Bryce Young's job could be in danger this upcoming season.
The 2026 season is a chance for the Carolina Panthers to prove the doubters wrong.
After Carolina finished 8-9 last season, they won the tiebreaker to win the NFC South for the first time in over 10 years. But if Carolina wants to improve this season, they are going to need quarterback Bryce Young to take a step forward.
The quarterback is going into year four here in 2026 and while the Panthers picked up his fifth-year option, they haven't made a decision on his long-term future just yet. Instead, the Panthers are waiting to see how Young can perform in a critical season.
If all goes well, Young should get a contract extension. But if it goes poorly, surely the Panthers will have to bring someone else in to compete for next season.
One analyst believes that Young's hot seat is warm and that he won't even last the full 17 games as a starter.
Alex Kay of Bleacher Report named Young as a quarterback who is most likely to lose his starting job this season. Here is what Kay wrote on Young's situation:
A bounce-back performance in 2025—which included taking the Panthers to the playoffs for the first time since 2017—gave him new life, but there's still no guarantee he will remain Carolina's long-term signal-caller. Even after having his fifth-year option picked up, Young is still in make-or-break territory this season. If he significantly regresses and Carolina plummets from NFC South contention, the team could consider plugging in free-agent pickup Kenny Pickett and exploring their options for the 2027 campaign.
Young's season will also determine how well the Panthers do this year. They are in a division that is arguably the weakest in the NFL and there's a real shot for them to win the division title again.
But can they go any further? They lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs last year but kept it close, showing signs of potentially breaking out in the NFC.
This is going to be one of those big years, either good or bad for the Panthers moving forward, and let's hope that Young can play well and avoid losing his starting job.
