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The Carolina Panthers have steadily improved each of the last two seasons—going from two wins to five between 2023 and 2024, then to eight and a long-awaited NFC South title in 2025. Now, they face a 2026 season where they'll actually be expected to perform like a winning team for the first time in nearly a decade.
Their first-place schedule isn't going to help matters—but fair or not both head coach Dave Canales and starting quarterback Bryce Young are entering a critical year in their respective careers.
So far, Canales has seemingly done a good job of establishing a positive team culture. Meanwhile, Young is slowly but surely starting to live up to the potential that made him the No. 1 overall pick a three years ago.
That said, these two now have to deal with raised expectations—which could prove to make or break them as the Panthers go forward. Here's Zachary Krueger at NBC Sports breaking down the situation for Canales and Young:
The way they finished the 2025 campaign doesn't exactly inspire a ton of confidence, and both are going to have to raise their game if the Panthers are going to take the next step this year.
For Canales, he can no longer rely on being a player's coach with a good locker room culture. Questionable game management and a missing sense of urgency have been problems for his team, and he has to improve significantly in both departments. No longer calling plays—which is now in the hands of offensive coordinator Brad Idzik—should, in theory, give him more time to focus on these issues.
For Young, the clutch gene is there, and he has a moonball as good as any other quarterback in the league. It takes more than that to earn a long-term job, though.
Young has to boost his accuracy on short and intermediate passes and cut down on his turnovers, especially fumbles. If Young can do that while delivering more consistent results, he should be worth an extension. If not, the Panthers have to think about starting over under center once again.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers' Dave Canales, Bryce Young have 'a lot to prove' in 2026
Continue reading...
Their first-place schedule isn't going to help matters—but fair or not both head coach Dave Canales and starting quarterback Bryce Young are entering a critical year in their respective careers.
So far, Canales has seemingly done a good job of establishing a positive team culture. Meanwhile, Young is slowly but surely starting to live up to the potential that made him the No. 1 overall pick a three years ago.
That said, these two now have to deal with raised expectations—which could prove to make or break them as the Panthers go forward. Here's Zachary Krueger at NBC Sports breaking down the situation for Canales and Young:
The way they finished the 2025 campaign doesn't exactly inspire a ton of confidence, and both are going to have to raise their game if the Panthers are going to take the next step this year.
For Canales, he can no longer rely on being a player's coach with a good locker room culture. Questionable game management and a missing sense of urgency have been problems for his team, and he has to improve significantly in both departments. No longer calling plays—which is now in the hands of offensive coordinator Brad Idzik—should, in theory, give him more time to focus on these issues.
For Young, the clutch gene is there, and he has a moonball as good as any other quarterback in the league. It takes more than that to earn a long-term job, though.
Young has to boost his accuracy on short and intermediate passes and cut down on his turnovers, especially fumbles. If Young can do that while delivering more consistent results, he should be worth an extension. If not, the Panthers have to think about starting over under center once again.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers' Dave Canales, Bryce Young have 'a lot to prove' in 2026
Continue reading...
