Wednesday’s practice in Uptown Charlotte was competitive and contentious. Players fought tough one-on-one battles, but it was QB Bryce Young who captured attention. It was his best camp performance so far, and Panthers‘ HC Dave Canales would agree. He expressed to the rest of the team that if they wanted to be skilled in the pass game, they would have to be positioned in ways Young could count on them. Perhaps this was the boost of confidence the quarterback needed because his perception has changed since he entered the league as a top pick in the 2023 draft.

The former Heisman Trophy winner was supposed to give the Panthers some stability. But instead, he got booed in Week 2 of the 2024 season as his team was about to lose against the Los Angeles Chargers (3-26). And though Canales publicly supported Young, he decided to bench him for veteran Andy Dalton.

Young returned in Week 8 against the Broncos but didn’t do anything great. Yet in the games that were to come, he showed flashes of brilliance, and that pushed wide receiver Adam Thielen to say, “He’s playing at a high level.” He felt Young could be a franchise quarterback. However, the way the signal-caller’s extension is being handled by his team, that might not be the case… at least, for now.

In a new press conference on Wednesday, Brandt Tilis, Panthers’ VP of football operations, stated, “Bryce is an ascending player, so I don’t want to sit here and make any kind of promises, any kind of statements about what we’re thinking about for Bryce’s contract or anything like that.” He emphasized that the 24-year-old should instead focus on football while the contract situation gets figured out in the future. Reacting to this statement, ESPN’s David Newton came forward with an explanation. He took to X and told:

“Put on the brakes. Yes! Bryce Young had a great practice today. He had a solid finish to the 2024 season, but a contract extension? Vice President of football operations Brandt Tilis was asked about when is the ideal time to put an extension on a player you believe to be your franchise quarterback.

“He did it once before with Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. But Mahomes had just come off winning a Super Bowl in his second full season as a starter. Bryce Young is not Patrick Mahomes. He is not there yet, and Tilis said Young is an ascending player. In other words, Young is still in a prove-it mode, and the Panthers are in no rush to extend Bryce Young.”

Previously, Tilis worked as the lead contract negotiator with the Chiefs. He was responsible for getting Mahomes a 10-year, $450 million extension in 2020—something he had described as a baseball contract because of the longer extension. However, Tilis has time to come to a decision regarding Young. After all, the QB is under contract through 2026, and the Carolina Panthers also hold a team option for 2027.

He still has plenty to prove as he went 4-8 as a starter last season. But heading into his third NFL season, the reports that have emerged from training camp give hope.