Bryce Young News: Fifth-year option getting picked up

General manager Dan Morgan announced Tuesday that Carolina plans to exercise the 2027 team option on Young's contract this offseason, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.

Young's fifth-year option is projected to come in at around $26.5 million and will be fully guaranteed. While the Panthers' willingness to pick up the option represents some level of commitment to the 24-year-old signal-caller, Young may need to make more dramatic strides in 2026 in order to land a long-term extension. He showed some modest improvement in Year 3, leading an 8-9 Panthers squad to its first NFC South title in a decade while directing six game-winning drives. Young completed 304 of 478 pass attempts for 3,011 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions to go with 216 yards and two scores on 54 carries over 16 starts during the regular season. A respectable showing against the heavily favored Rams in the wild-card round this past weekend will also be a confidence booster for the QB heading into 2026.