‘Confirmed’: Curry, Cam Newton amongst these to have fun no-look Bryce Young landing

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The transfer was one thing one would count on from former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, identified for his exuberance on and off the sphere. Maybe Baker Mayfield. Or Brett Favre in his prime.

Not Bryce Young.

The soft-spoken 23-year-old goes out of his means not to attract consideration to himself. He may not be the primary NFL quarterback you’d count on to tug off a flashy transfer since Carolina made him the highest choose of the 2023 draft.

But there Young was throughout Sunday’s season finale, standing inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta along with his again to the play and his fingers within the air signaling a 3rd quarter landing earlier than his fourth-and-1, 12-yard cross reached tight finish Tommy Tremble in the course of the tip zone.

It was dubbed the “Steph Curry” transfer as a result of it was paying homage to the Golden State Warriors star — who can also be a North Carolina native and big Panthers fan — turning and working up the court docket after launching a 3-pointer earlier than it reached the underside of the web.

Curry even acknowledged his approval on his Instagram story on Sunday, posting an image of Young along with his again to the play along with his private message: “Confirmed.”

Curry wasn’t the one star who beloved Young’s transfer after Carolina’s 44-38 time beyond regulation victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Newton posted the video with the message: “that’s NASTY wrk @_bryce_young. thats.Boogie.accepted!!”

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, chosen with the second choose of the 2023 draft, and others chimed in as properly.

Young mentioned he might really feel the “love” from social media, teammates and coaches. Asked the place the transfer got here from, he bashfully smiled and mentioned, “I do not know. Just a response. I by no means thought of it or deliberate on something like that. It crossed my thoughts, simply be pleased.”

The transfer may need appeared uncharacteristic for many who’ve watched Young from afar, however not from teammates who see that aspect of him on a regular basis.

“He’s received hearth. He’s received swag,” coach Dave Canales mentioned on Monday because the crew wrapped up a 5-12 season. “He’s received an entire lot of that to his recreation and he is dealing with it in the proper means. He’s letting it come to him with humility and laborious work.”

Guard Robert Hunt mentioned it is positively in Young’s DNA to make such a transfer.

“That was Steph Curry-ish, and he likes Steph Curry,” he mentioned. “I respect him.”

Tremble wasn’t shocked in any respect by the transfer, however did not understand how “actually cool that actually was” till he noticed the video later.

“I like seeing him be himself, make performs and have enjoyable,” he mentioned. “He’s a baller and that is what ballers do … Since the day he received right here we have been seeing that your complete time. Now the entire world is seeing it.”

The world has seen Young develop from a possible bust after being benched following an 0-2 begin to his second season to a participant Canales now calls “completely” the crew’s franchise quarterback of the long run.

Young performed so properly the second half of the season that there is optimism the crew can flip round a string of seven straight shedding seasons.

Wide receiver Adam Thielen, 34, mentioned the celebration was only a nice instance of Young’s progress in confidence as a participant and chief.

“I do not assume you possibly can ask anybody on this locker room and they’d say it was a shock to them,” mentioned Thielen, who did not rule out this being his final season regardless of being underneath contract for 2025. “That’s who he is been. He’s a man who’s assured when he might be himself. And when he feels he is earned that proper to be himself, issues occur.”