The Carolina Panthers and No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young agreed to a four-year contract, the team announced Friday. A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press the fully guaranteed deal is worth $37.9 million. The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to disclose the terms publicly.
The deal comes just four days before the Panthers are to report to training camp in Spartanburg, South Carolina. All of Carolina's draft picks are now under contract heading to camp.
The Panthers traded up with the Chicago Bears from the ninth spot to get Young, giving them a potential long-term solution at quarterback — a position where they have struggled to find stability for years.
The 5-foot-10, 204-pound Young won the Heisman Trophy in 2021 for Alabama, where he was a two-year starter for the Crimson Tide. He finished second in school history with 8,356 career yards passing and 80 touchdowns.
He took over first-team reps in OTAs and is tracking to be the team's Week 1 starter.
The Associated Press reported back in May, how Bryce Young arrived early for his first NFL practice, then put on a show for his new coaches. The number one overall pick from Alabama impressed Carolina Panthers coach Frank Reich and others at a rookie minicamp on Friday. Young made a series of on-target throws and showed good decision-making. Reich says Young made all of the right throws and did so accurately. He says Young was in command and looked the part "mentally and physically." Young arrived an hour early. He says he wanted to show he was prepared and make a good first impression.
"I don't want to overdo it on the first day, but he did every little thing right," Reich said. "The little throws out in the flat, the little bubble screen stuff, the deep over (the top) throws, throws in the flat. ... He just threw it with accuracy, saw (the field) well and knew where guys were supposed to be.
Reich said Young showed "complete command" of the offense.
After being selected ahead of childhood friend C.J. Stroud from Ohio State in the draft, Young said he was eager to get on the field and prove himself.
He wasn't kidding around.
Young arrived at the practice field nearly an hour before the listed start time, and well before most of the media had arrived to snap a picture or grab a video of him arriving in his number nine jersey.
Young's objective was to send a message on what he called "a huge day."
"I wanted to set a tone," Young said. "I was just here trying to get stuff down like we all were. In this rookie minicamp we have talked about the themes of the team, and one of them is making sure we are prepared. I think we all want to make the best first impression that we can."
Several of Young's completions during the non-padded practice went to Jonathan Mingo, the team's second-round draft pick from Mississippi — a connection the Panthers hope will turn out to be special for years to come.
On a crossing route, Mingo caught a perfectly thrown spiral in stride before quickly turning up the field toward the end zone.
"I've been on the opposite side of Bryce for the last two years (in college) and I'm 0-2 against him, so it's a blessing to finally be on his side," Mingo said. "We have to keep building our chemistry and help the team win. Just keep practicing, Practicing makes us better. He's making me better and I'm making him better."
Between plays, Young received coaching from longtime NFL quarterback Josh McCown, the team's new QBs coach. Mingo took some advice from former Panthers wide receiver and NFL analyst Steve Smith, who stopped by to see the rookies.
Mingo said he was impressed with Young's presence in the huddle, which included serious moments and others where they joked around and enjoyed the music being pumped in through speakers on the sidelines.
Mingo said Young is "poised, relaxed and smooth" in the pocket, always knowing where he wants to go with the ball.
"He doesn't think too much," Mingo said. "He just goes out and has fun."
Carolina has a lot invested in Young after trading away four draft picks and wide receiver D.J. Moore to move up to the No. 1 overall pick.
Panthers owner David Tepper said he's counting on Young to lead the franchise to multiple Super Bowl titles after five seasons in which the team hasn't found a long-term answer at quarterback. The Panthers haven't made the playoffs since 2017, the year before Tepper bought the team. While questions will continue to linger about Young's 5-foot-10, 204-pound stature until he can prove he's tall enough and strong enough to play in the NFL, the early impressions he made Friday were all positive.
Reich said that Young "mentally and physically, he looked the part in every way."
"He threw the ball exceedingly well," Reich added. "You can tell he was in a good space mentally. He really had a firm grasp on everything we asked."
Young made sure he was prepared coming in, not just by studying the playbook.
He's spent months taking in advice from all sorts of people at the NFL level, both current and former, about how best to transition to the league. That included several talks with former Crimson Tide quarterback Mac Jones, now with the New England Patriots.
Young said Jones has been "super gracious" talking to him about a number of issues.
"I want to do everything I can to set myself up to be successful and to help the franchise," Young said. "A lot of people have helped me. I'm going to keep leaning on the people who have had success and been doing it longer than I have."
