On Sunday, Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich didn’t have a definitive answer on if he would play his starters in this summer’s preseason finale. But he does now.
After throwing out the “probably” tag yesterday, Reich confirmed that his first-team offense will indeed be on the field for Friday’s exhibition against the Detroit Lions. Of those starters is, of course, rookie quarterback Bryce Young—whom Reich specifically commented on.
“Yes, I feel he’ll be ready,” he said of Young’s preparation for the regular season. “He’s very accomplished mentally, maturity-wise. It’s always that healthy tension between getting him enough reps, getting our guys enough reps and exposing them to undue risk of injury. And honestly, especially last week when you go up against that defensive scheme we went up against last week where it’s a blitz fest or it can be a blitz fest—it’s like, how much of it is worth it?
“It was great to prepare for it. To have to go through the mental exercise of—hey, we have to get ready for all these blitzes. But then, ya know, it’s risk-reward on how much you play.”
Young has played a total of 32 snaps in his two preseason outings. Over that limited exposure, he’s completed seven of his 12 attempts for 56 yards while also eating a pair of sacks and a few rough hits.
So, with no touchdowns on the books yet either, there’s a little more work left to be done for the No. 1 overall pick and his unit.
“Still wanna get more reps,” Reich added. “I think we had about 20 last week, or somethin’ like that. And it’s kinda TBD again. Could be about the same, could be a little less, could be a little bit more, like to get a little rhythm goin’, accomplish certain things. And so, we’ll play it by ear.”
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