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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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The Carolina Panthers fell to the Los Angeles Rams 34–31 on Saturday when Matthew Stafford led a 71-yard game-winning drive capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson with 38 seconds remaining.
Stafford finished with 304 passing yards, three touchdowns, and one interception, while wide receiver Puka Nacua recorded 10 catches for 111 yards.
For Carolina, quarterback Bryce Young completed 21-of-40 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown, a 7-yard strike to Jalen Coker. Coker delivered a breakout performance, leading all receivers with nine catches for 134 yards and a score.
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Despite the disappointing finish, the Panthers still closed the season on a positive note, finishing 8–9 in the regular season and capturing their first NFC South title since 2015, due in large part to Young’s continued development.
That progress led Panthers general manager Dan Morgan to make a notable decision on Tuesday, with multiple reports confirming the team will exercise Young’s fifth-year option.
The move guarantees Young’s 2027 salary under his rookie contract, locking in a fully guaranteed fifth-year figure of approximately $26.5 million.
Young, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, signed a fully guaranteed four-year rookie contract worth $37.95 million.
Through the end of the 2025 season, he has totaled 8,291 career passing yards with 49 passing touchdowns and 30 interceptions, with his 2025 campaign marking a big step forward, as he set career highs with 3,011 passing yards, 23 touchdown passes, and a 63.6% completion rate.
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Before being drafted by Carolina, Young starred at Alabama from 2020 to 2022, and as a two-year starter, he won the Heisman Trophy in 2021, set single-season program records with 4,872 passing yards and 47 touchdowns, and finished his collegiate career with 8,356 passing yards and 80 passing touchdowns.
Young also earned multiple national honors, including AP Player of the Year, the Maxwell Award, the Davey O’Brien Award, and the Manning Award, and was widely viewed as the top prospect in the 2023 draft, a belief the Panthers continue to reinforce by positioning him as their franchise quarterback.
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