C.J. Stroud offers words of encouragement to Bryce Young after disappointing rookie season
C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young each wrapped up their rookie campaigns on opposites ends of the spectrum.
For Stroud, the Houston Texans quarterback, one of the best freshman seasons from a quarterback in NFL history, a playoff and Pro Bowl appearance and nomination for the AP Offensive Player of the Year Award. For Young, the Carolina Panthers quarterback, a season mired in struggles which ended with a league-worst 2-15 record.
Though Stroud has already begun to collect accolades and Young is headed for a rebuild in Carolina, the former Ohio State star isn’t anointing himself the star of the 2023 NFL Draft class. Instead, Stroud is offering words of encouragement for Young. During a recent appearance on “The Pivot Podcast,” Stroud discussed Young’s rookie season, saying a lot of things out of his control didn’t go his way.
“In his shoes, I feel like a lot of stuff didn’t go his way that was out of his control,” Stroud said. “You can’t make a play if somebody don’t block. You can’t make a play if somebody don’t catch the ball. When you watch the tape, Bryce did a lot of great things. He’s gonna be a great player, but it takes time. I came into a situation where we were struggling, I know, but we still had a lot of good pieces and Nick Caserio, our GM, brought in a lot of good vets. DeMeco [Ryans] was the perfect coach for our type of team.
“Everybody’s path is different. Maybe I had a good rookie year and Bryce is gonna have a great second year. And hopefully I do too, but I know everything is gonna be fine for him. And I told him, ‘You the one bruh. You the one for a reason. And he’s not going to, but don’t ever look at yourself different.'”
Bryce Young looking to bounce back in 2024
Young, the No. 1 overall pick out of Alabama, started 16 games as a rookie. He threw for 2,877 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on 59.8% passing. Carolina owned the league’s worst offense.
Young will have a chance to rebound during his sophomore campaign under a new regime. The Panthers hired former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales as their head coach, who has built a reputation for being a “quarterback fixer.” Under his tutelage, both Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield made the Pro Bowl.
Speaking on “NFL Live” Tuesday, Canales expressed his excitement about getting to work with Young.
“The accuracy, the mobility, the courage under fire,” Canales said. “This is a guy that just bounces back. He’s seen NFL football, and he sees what it is. These are really talented players, and then for him to have 16 games of experience under his belt of seeing just the variety of defenses and rushes that can happen, I’m really excited about just his makeup and the way that he just kept bouncing back.”