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An analyst shared what Bryce Young needs to do to earn a contract extension with the Carolina Panthers.

The Carolina Panthers picked up the fifth-year option for quarterback Bryce Young. That will give them some more time to decide on whether or not to offer him a larger contract extension.

The truth is that after a rocky transition to the NFL, Young still needs to prove to the Panthers that he’s worthy of a contract extension. Jared Dubin of CBS Sports explained.

“They brought in Chris Brazzell as another option at wide receiver,” Dubin wrote. “Carolina turned over the backup quarterback room, bringing in Kenny Pickett and Will Grier after the departure of Andy Dalton. Young already had his fifth-year option picked up, and needs to prove that season that he’s worthy of a lucrative extension.”

Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young is Looking to Avoid Complacency

2025 was by far the best in the short career for Bryce Young, as he led the Carolina Panthers to an NFC South win and a trip to the playoffs. Despite that, he knows it isn’t time to sit on his laurels.

“Obviously, we want to make sure that we can be consistent with some of the positives from last year,” Bryce Young said. “But, also, we understand that last year was last year. This is a new season. We all start 0-0. There’s no carryover. We’re not entitled to anything.”

Statistically, Young also had his best individual season in 2025. He completed 63.6% of his passes for 3,011 yards and 23 touchdowns. Of course, there’s still room to improve, and he sees that energy to improve coming from the entire team this offseason.

“So, I’m super grateful for that being our mindset as a team,” Young said. “Everyone knows we can’t take our foot off the gas. We have to work just as hard, if not harder, as we have these last few years. Everything is earned, and now is not the time to be thinking about records or anything like that. It’s just about the work.”

Panthers GM Dan Morgan Sent a Strong Message to Bryce Young

Shortly after the Panthers decided to pick up the fifth-year option on Bryce Young, Dan Morgan spoke publicly about their young quarterback. That, notably, included the note that Young’s future contract is being discussed internally.

“I’m actually signing his fifth-year option today, we’re picking that up. In terms of a long-term contract, that’s something that we’re talking about here internally, and we’ll do it at the right time,” Morgan said on Mad Dog Sports Radio.

“Getting back to Bryce, obviously he came into a really rough situation in terms of coaching staff, maybe you could say the talent around him wasn’t great as well. So to come in as a rookie and come into a really tough situation where we had a coaching change, a lot of shuffling around the building, so for Coach Canales to come in here and provide stability, for him to be in the system now going on three years in a row, I think you see him just getting better and better every single year…So we really feel like the arrow is up with Bryce.”

After winning the NFC South in 2025, expectations are going to be much higher on the Panthers in 2026. If Young manages to live up to those, then it could solidify him as the team’s franchise quarterback.