Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young may not have gotten the fondest of memories out of his regular-season debut. Heck, one of the few he did get was nearly lost for good.
The 2023 No. 1 overall pick chalked up his first NFL touchdown in the second quarter of Sunday’s 24-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, finding tight end Hayden Hurst for a 4-yard score. And right after lighting up the scoreboard, Hurst proceeded to launch the ball into the Mercedes-Benz Stadium stands.
Bryce & Hayden are gonna be fun to watch 🤩 pic.twitter.com/7OkV4ojkpn
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) September 10, 2023
Hurst, who led all Panthers pass catchers with 41 receiving yards, would hit Twitter later in the day to explain what happened . . .
Yes, I blacked out and threw Bryce’s first touchdown in the seats…
But they threw it back and the ball is in safe hands… everyone can relax and dial it back about 30% 😂
— Hayden Hurst (@haydenrhurst) September 10, 2023
Luckily, Young never seemed too worried about it.
“We have a great quarterback room that took that choice out of my hands,” he replied when asked if he wanted the ball as a the souvenir. “They said that before that they’d make sure . . . they accounted for that. So, that was not where my focus was at. But we have a good group of guys that think for things like that.”
Well, kudos to the fine and thoughtful individual who threw that pigskin right back.
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