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Transcript of a conversation between Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler... Basic gist: Both believe he will (and should) get the fifth year option. Graziano sees some logic into going ahead with an early extension offer but Fowler disagrees. Text follows: ______________________________ Could the Panthers extend Bryce Young this offseason? Graziano: I covered the Panthers this past weekend and asked a bunch of their people about Young. And from what I can tell, they still believe in him. They've used 10 different offensive line combinations this season and have a young receiver group, so the team seems to think the ups and downs can be blamed on more than just the quarterback. Young was excellent Sunday in beating the Rams, but he was far less than that against the 49ers the Monday night before. The week before that, he set a single-game franchise record for passing yards in a victory over the Falcons. It's hard to really know what the long-term outlook is when the swings are this wild week to week. The Panthers will have to decide by the first week of May whether to pick up his fifth-year option for 2027. I expect them to do that because the cost will be reasonable (around $26.5 million), but then the question becomes what to do after that. Fowler: This feels like the classic wait-and-see situation. Despite showing flashes, Young hasn't progressed beyond midtier starter status. The Panthers have overachieved a bit this season and have viewed 2026 as their true jump year. Whether they want to allocate heavy resources to a Young extension during a crucial offseason remains to be seen. Picking up his fifth-year option and having him play at least a portion of his fourth season on his rookie deal is a sensible play. But Young has two things going for him. He's proving to be clutch, orchestrating four fourth-quarter comebacks and five game-winning drives this season. And he's showing touch on intermediate-to-deep passes, completing 30 passes of 20 or more yards. So he's giving the front office something to think about long and hard. Should the Panthers engage, what's the sweet spot on his market, Dan? Eleven quarterbacks are making at least $50 million per year. Graziano: So, if Young is open to an extension in the 2026 offseason, I think it would have to be lucrative to make it worth his while. If the Panthers pick up the fifth-year option, they will have him under contract for two years at around $33 million, so it might be tempting for him take a below-market deal just to improve on that. It might make some sense to do a short-term bridge deal like the one the Packers did with Jordan Love after Year 3 (when he really hadn't played much, because Aaron Rodgers was in front of him). But I don't see what Young's incentive would be to do an extension next spring or summer that averages less than $50 million per year. The Jaguars extended Trevor Lawrence at $55 million per year after Year 3, and we still don't know whether he's their long-term answer. Teams do wild things when it comes to quarterbacks because they're so scared about having to find one. So unless the Panthers are willing to give Young top-QB market value, he could bet on himself and bet on the team being incentivized to continue to improve around him. Then he could play out the 2026 season and put himself in position to negotiate a bigger deal after that, when the Panthers would have him for only one more year, which tilts the leverage Young's way. Fowler: Teams are only as good as their quarterback options, and Young is easily the Panthers' best. He also seems to have good chemistry with Canales and his staff. But don't be surprised if teams slightly shift their thinking when it comes to paying quarterbacks and show some level of restraint. If you don't have a bona fide top-10 guy, why pay obscene market prices so early? That's an easy call if you have a Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, etc. But Miami (Tua Tagovailoa) and Arizona (Kyler Murray) are among teams saddled with bloated guaranteed money for good, but not great, quarterbacks. My point is that there's no rush, barring both sides making concessions that work for them. I think Houston could be more inclined to pay C.J. Stroud, another QB from the 2023 draft class, early. He has higher-end traits as a passer. ... NFL Latest Buzz: Week 14 -
By PNW_PantherMan · Posted
And meanwhile teams that are out of the hunt have players leaving in free agency before the season's over. -
By Bear Hands · Posted
The most basic way to put it: We have a clear path if we can sweep them and they just lose 1 of the 3 other games. They finish 2-3 We finish 3-1 (2 of those wins the sweep) We win the tie-breaker, we're the 4th seed at 10-7 That gets it done. We have to take care of the Saints or else it's pretty much done.
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