Panthers’ Bryce Young, top pick from 2023 NFL Draft, expected to miss upcoming game with ankle sprain

The Carolina Panthers will be turning back the clock with their quarterback this weekend.

Bryce Young, the first overall selection in this year’s NFL Draft, is expected to miss the game against the Seattle Seahawks as he deals with an ankle sprain.

The Panthers will turn to Andy Dalton as they try to get their first victory of the season.

Young didn’t practice on Thursday, which led to the early prognosis for Sunday.

The Panthers are Dalton’s fifth team in as many years – he spent the majority of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals before playing with the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints in each of the next three seasons.

Dalton signed a two-year deal with Carolina in the offseason, which last year had both Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold. But Mayfield now has the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 2-0 while Darnold is Brock Purdy’s backup in San Francisco.

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Young has struggled to start his NFL career. He has completed 42 of his 71 pass attempts (59.2%) for 299 yards. The Panthers have scored just 27 points in their first two games, both of which were losses to division rivals Atlanta Falcons and Saints.

He performed better against New Orleans though, going 22-for-33 for 153 yards with a touchdown and a fumble lost.

Dalton was 6-8 as the starter for the Saints last year. His 66.7 completion percentage was a career high as he threw for 18 touchdowns, nine interceptions and 2,871 yards.