SPARTANBURG, S.C. — The Carolina Panthers have their QB1.
Coach Frank Reich wasted no time naming rookie Bryce Young, the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, the team’s starting quarterback for the Sept. 10 opener against the Atlanta Falcons.
“When we decided to pick Bryce we imagined and saw the vision that we would be standing here today saying he is the QB1,” Reich said Wednesday.
The announcement came after the completion of the Young’s first training camp practice at Wofford College, although the decision seemed imminent after he took over first-team reps from veteran Andy Dalton during organized team activities in June.
Young, a two-year starter at Alabama and the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner, will become the first rookie to start a season opener for the Panthers since Cam Newton in 2011. Newton was also a No. 1 pick and went on to earn league MVP honors for the 2015 season.
Reich vowed to be patient as Young develops as a rookie.
“We want to keep our expectations on the process and not try to make too much of any one play or any one game,” Reich said. “I think that is wisdom, that is good coaching and that is good playing. When we have a bad play, nobody is going to panic. And Bryce knows he is going to feel that from our staff. That has already been said: ‘Hey, you’re the guy, let’s go.'”
The Panthers made a commitment to Young when they traded away four draft picks and wide receiver D.J. Moore to the Chicago Bears to move up eight spots in the draft.
JETS: Aaron Rodgers took a pay cut and signed a two-year, $75 million guaranteed contract, according to a person familiar with the deal.
The four-time NFL MVP had nearly $110 million in guaranteed money remaining on his previous deal signed with Green Bay. But Rodgers is taking less money with New York – and reiterating his stay with the Jets is likely to last beyond just this season. NFL Network first reported the sides had agreed to a new deal after Rodgers confirmed earlier in the day he had agreed to a reworked contract.
BENGALS: Joe Burrow dodged questions about a new contract after the first day of training camp, telling reporters that “it gets done when it gets done.”
The team had hoped to reach a long-term deal with the franchise quarterback that could make him one of the NFL’s highest paid players. But negotiations have run into training camp while other star quarterbacks have inked rich extensions.
GIANTS: New York locked in left tackle Andrew Thomas with a five-year contact extension worth $117.5 million, the team announced hours before stepping on the field for its first practice of the 2023 season.
The signing comes a day after star running back Saquon Barkley received a one-year, $11 million contract. Barkley was on the field and smiled a lot Wednesday, glad-handed teammates he had not been on the field with in months because of the contract talks, worked hard, and even found time to trash talk with safety Xavier McKinney in the 90-minute workout.
BEARS: Chicago and tight end Cole Kmet agreed to a multi-year, $50 million contract extension, a reward for a homegrown player coming off his best season.
Kmet had 50 receptions for 544 yards and seven touchdowns last season after catching just two scoring passes through his first two years. He has 138 catches for 1,399 yards in his career.
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