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David Newton, ESPN Staff Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Despite a rebuilt offensive line, new receivers and a new offensive scheme, Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young won’t play in Thursday night’s preseason opener against the New England Patriots in Foxborough.
First-year NFL coach Dave Canales left it open whether the top pick of the 2023 draft would play at all during the preseason for risk of injury.
“You can’t play scared, but you’ve got to be smart, so yeah it’s a factor for sure,” Canales said after Tuesday’s padded practice. “With the guys we’re counting on, we’re definitely taking that into consideration.”
The Panthers already are without backup Andy Dalton (hamstring), so third-stringer Jack Plummer will start and backed up by Jake Luton, signed on Monday.
Young will get most, if not all, of his preseason work in practice where the first and second teams go against each other on a daily basis. He also will face the New York Jets in a joint padded practice next Thursday, so it’s doubtful he will play in next Saturday’s preseason home game.
“We’ll take it week to week and get a sense for do we need to get him out there in this system and get him a couple of series,” said Canales, who was the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season. “Different situation last year in Tampa. We had a quarterback competition, so we wanted them out there getting opportunities.
“This is different. We know who our guys is, and he’s doing a fantastic job.”