It’s no secret that Panthers quarterback Bryce Young had a rough rookie year after Carolina traded up to select him at No. 1 overall.
On Wednesday, one of Young’s teammates noted just how much Young had to overcome in 2023.
“Yeah, well, I’ll say this: I mean, I think everything was stacked against him last year, unfortunately,” Thielen said in a Wednesday interview on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football. “And I’m not gonna get into detail as to why that was, but I’m just really excited for him to have a fresh start, an ability to have a good coaching staff that’s gonna put a good plan together to help him be successful, and also to put people around him to help him be successful.”
The Panthers lost each of their first six games before finally defeating Houston in Week 8. The club did not win again until Week 15, defeating Atlanta on a rainy day in Charlotte. Frank Reich was fired after the team’s Nov. 26 loss to Tennessee. Carolina reached 20 points just one time after its Week 7 bye — in a Dec. 24 33-30 loss to the Packers.
The team did not score another point during the season, with shutout losses to the Jaguars and Bucs to end the year.
Thielen added he felt Young displayed “his maturity over the year.”
“I think his ability at times to just be very honest in front of the room and say, ‘Hey, this is what I’m not doing very well and this is what I need to get better at and please hold me accountable,’ I thought was really impressive for a young guy,” Thielen said.
“His maturity level over the season was really cool to see. And his ability to handle adversity. I don’t know how much adversity Bryce has had over his football career, and to handle the amount of adversity he did, to show up every week, week in, week out, put his head down and work, try to lead to the best of his ability was really impressive, and what makes me excited about Year 2 with him.”
Young ended his first season having completed 60 percent of his passes for 2,877 yards with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Thielen was clearly his favorite target, as he caught 103 passes for 1,014 yards with four touchdowns.
The Bills announced a pair of additions to their defensive line on Thursday.
Defensive tackle Austin Johnson’s agreement on a deal with the team was previously reported, but their deal with defensive tackle DeShawn Williams was a new bit of news. Both players have signed one-year contracts with the team.
Williams had 33 tackles, a sack, and a pass defensed in 16 games for the Panthers last season. He had 113 tackles, 7.5 sacks, eight passes defensed and an interception in three seasons with the Broncos before going to Carolina.
Daquan Jones and Ed Oliver are the top returning defensive tackles in Buffalo. The two new arrivals will provide further depth up front this season.
The Panthers finished a league-worst 2-15 in 2023. But their new head coach nevertheless has his eyes set on capturing the NFC South in his first season.
Head coach Dave Canales said during the annual league meeting this week that he feels Carolina will be much improved in 2024.
“I think we’re going to be competitive for the division this year,” Canales said, via Greg Auman of Fox Sports. “What I’m saying is, if we play good football, if we can get the football right like we believe we can, and we can take care of the football, let the numbers take care of themselves, we’ll be in the hunt. We’ll be in every single game, which will give us an opportunity to be in the hunt for the division at the end.”
Canales, who spent last season in the division as the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator, noted that every team in the NFC South has improved this offseason. But Canales is anticipating that Carolina will be able to compete with any opponent come this fall.
“Every one of those games is going to be a huge opportunity for us to become us, to see what version of football we want to play,” Canales said. “We want to walk off that field saying, ‘This is Panthers football.’ It’s tough. It’s fast. It’s physical. It’s a really intelligent style of play. That’s kind of going to be our approach.”
If the Panthers are going to be competitive, it will start with setting up quarterback Bryce Young to succeed. Canales has acknowledged that “it’s going to take some time” for Young to display all the ways he can improve. But Canales also feels last year’s No. 1 overall pick has the right attitude to facilitate a Carolina turnaround.
The team whose owner has thrown a drink of water has acquired a tall drink of water.
Veteran pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney, a six-five, 266-pound defensive wrecking crew, has agreed to term with the Panthers on two-year deal.
Per multiple reports, the deal has a base value of $20 million, with a “max value” (we’ve shamed them into ditching “up to”) $24 million.
Clowney was the first overall pick in 2014. He spent five years with the Texans before spending one year with the Seahawks, one with the Titans, two with the Browns, and one with the Ravens.
He tied a career high in 2023, with 9.5 sacks.
But sacks aren’t the whole story. When healthy and effective, Clowney can (as Chris Simms likes to say) “eff up the play.” He creates havoc that makes it easier for other defensive players to get to the ball.
Safety Sam Franklin is set to return to the Panthers for another season.
Joseph Person of TheAthletic.com reports that Franklin has agreed to a one-year deal with the team. No other terms of the deal have been reported.
Franklin has been a core special teams player in Carolina over the last four seasons and has also made nine starts on defense. Four of those starts came last season and Franklin finished the year with 30 tackles, an interception, and three passes defensed. He returned that interception 99 yards for a touchdown.
Over his entire career, Franklin has 97 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble to go with that interception.
