The Panthers traded wide receiver DJ Moore and a fair amount of draft capital to the Bears in order to move up to the first spot in the draft and they used that pick to take quarterback Bryce Young on Thursday night, so it’s pretty clear who they believe is going to be leading their team for years to come.
At a press conference at the team facility on Friday, Young made it clear that he does not want to have that title handed to him.
“I want to earn the respect of the locker room first,” Young said. “What I’ve done in the past doesn’t entitle me to anything.”
The Panthers signed Andy Dalton as a free agent this offseason and head coach Frank Reich said on Thursday night that Young will have to earn the starting job, so everyone seems to be on the same page when it comes to how things will be handled right off the bat. The Panthers didn’t make their move in order to have Young on the bench for long, though, so Young should have plenty of advantages when it comes time to decide who will be on the field.