Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young gave everyone a scare this past Sunday, when he took quite a bit of time to get up from a crushing sack.
Young, on the team’s opening possession in their Week 17 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, absorbed a big hit from defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris. He had remained down while trainers and teammates tended to him, a scene that left many to assume the worst.
But the rookie, in yet another show of toughness, didn’t even end up missing a single snap.
On Wednesday, Young was asked if he thought the hit was going to keep him out of the game.
“No, that wasn’t the case,” he replied. “Just took a hard hit, just an awkward hit that took a little bit longer to get up from. After that, was able to walk back to the sideline, went in the tent for a second, everything was all good. I just wanna do everything I could to get back. It was nothing serious, which definitely is a blessing.”
Speaking of blessings, it may be a miracle that Young has played in 16 of Carolina’s 17 contests. Heading into Week 18, he’s been sacked 59 times this season—the second-most in 2023 and the second-most for a rookie in NFL history.
That number is especially troubling given the outside concerns about his 5-foot-10, 200-pound frame. That talk, however, still doesn’t bother Young.
“For me, that was never something that was on my mind,” he later said of his size. “I’m not out there to prove anything wrong or to make a point. I’ve always been focused on tryna do the best that I can at my job, tryna help the team, try to focus on what I can control. That’s something that never really fell in that category. So, it wasn’t really something that was a big focus for me.”
Young was listed on today’s injury report due to his back, which can’t be feeling at 100 percent after a six-sack outing on New Year’s Eve. Nonetheless, he was a full participant in practice.
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