Bryce Young’s preseason debut wasn’t one for the highlight reel. Nonetheless, there’s plenty that the rookie has learned from it.
The Carolina Panthers starting quarterback spoke with reporters on Wednesday, a little over 48 hours before his second career exhibition outing. When asked about what he wants build on going from Game No. 1 to Game No. 2, he had quite a few thoughts.
“It was just a unique opportunity being able to play in the first NFL game, ya know, preseason game,” he said. “But still, just gettin’ your first live, full team snaps—that was great. That was fun.
“And there’s a myriad of things that I want to improve on as an individual, us as a unit want to improve on. Just better operation, better execution for myself—first and foremost. Us a unit, as a team—wanna execute better. But, again, that’s a day-by-day process. We try to approach every day with an 0-0 mindset.”
Regardless of the mindset, Young and the Panthers will be entering the Meadowlands to face the New York Giants at 0-1. Their preseason opener against Big Blue’s roommates, the New York Jets, resulted in a dud of a 27-0 loss—one in which Young completed four of his six throws for 21 yards.
The start also saw the No. 1 overall pick under a constant stream of pressure from the stacked Jets defense. And based off head coach Frank Reich’s comments from earlier this afternoon, things may not get much easier for his offense against the Giants and defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale.
But, as Young stressed, you play and you learn—and he’ll keep on learning.
