With Bryce Young settled at QB, Panthers can focus on rebuilding NFL's worst defense

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers aren't heading to the postseason, but they believe they’ve finally found a franchise quarterback.

And that’s big, particularly with general manager Dan Morgan needing to focus his attention on fixing a defense that had a historically bad season.

Bryce Young finished his second season in promising fashion with 21 touchdowns — 15 passing and six rushing — in his final 10 starts, including five in Sunday’s 44-38 overtime win over an Atlanta Falcons squad that was competing for a playoff spot.

It capped a remarkable turnaround for Young, who was benched two games into the season by first-year coach Dave Canales, a decision that led many to conclude the Panthers had squandered the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL draft when they traded up eight spots to get the former Heisman Trophy winner from Alabama.

To his credit, Young proved his doubters wrong, regained Canales' trust and gave a frustrated Panthers fan base some optimism that the team's seven-year playoff drought might soon come to an end.

“Absolutely, Bryce is going to be our starter moving forward,” Canales said when asked if Young has shown enough to be considered the team's franchise quarterback. “He earned that job. He won it. He took it and ran with it.”

That hasn't surprised Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble one bit.

He praised Young for fighting through adversity and keeping a positive mindset while continuing to work hard to improve.

“I have hyped him up from the day he got here because we have been seeing that the entire time,” Tremble said. “Now the whole world got to see it, especially being the last game of the year. He ended it on a high note and really let people talk about his quarterback play. He's elite.”

Young said he is “super grateful” for his second opportunity — one that only came about after veteran Andy Dalton sprained his thumb in a car accident on Oct. 22 and had to relinquish the starting job.

When asked if he feels vindicated, Young said, “I don't know if vindication is the word, but I always try to control what I can control. I just to be the best version of myself every day and I will continue to chase that. ... I want to embrace the good and the bad, and that is something that was a theme for this entire year.”

Canales said Ejiro Evero will return as defensive coordinator despite the Panthers breaking a 43-year-old NFL single-season record by allowing 534 points. The 1981 Baltimore Colts gave up 533 during a 2-14 season.

The Panthers played one more game than those Colts and allowed 31.4 points per game, the sixth-worst average in league history.

“I've played against his defenses and I know what this defense will look like,” Canales said. “And I'm committed to that and Ejiro is committed to that. So it's about developing the players we brought in and evaluating our schemes and being honest about that, and then seeing who is out there to (improve) our roster.”

Canales would not say if the entire defensive staff would return.

“I love EJ and I love his scheme,” Morgan said. “But I have to do my part as well, me and my staff, of putting really good players on the field and adding good pieces. ... We will continue to be aggressive. We will be smart, but we will be aggressive.”

Evero was put in a tough situation after the Panthers traded top pass rusher Brian Burns and cornerback Donte Jackson, allowed linebacker Frankie Luvu to get away in free agency and then lost two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Derrick Brown and linebacker Shaq Thompson to injuries in the first two weeks of the season.

The Panthers signed edge rusher D.J. Wonnum in the offseason, but he spent the first half of the season on injured reserve.

The good news for the Panthers is Brown said he should be back from a torn meniscus in his knee by the start of offseason team activities. Thompson's future in Carolina is more uncertain after he played in just six games over the past two seasons due to injuries. Considered the team's emotional leader on defense, Thompson has spent the last decade with Carolina.

The Panthers' biggest priority in free agency will be re-signing their lone Pro Bowl player, cornerback Jaycee Horn.

Horn has only played in 37 of a potential 68 games during his injury-plagued, four-year career, but son of former NFL wide receiver Joe Horn has been a shutdown cornerback when he's been on the field. The Panthers are expected to pick up the fifth-year option on Horn and then look to give him a long-term contract.

The Panthers have had a reliable core of specialists over the past three seasons that has included kicker Eddy Pineiro, punter Johnny Hekker and long snapper J.J. Janson. But Carolina enters the offseason with all three being unrestricted free agents.

Pineiro, at 88.1%, is the third-most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history and could command decent money on the free-agent market despite not being known for having a particularly strong leg.

The Panthers (5-12) finished with their sixth straight 10-loss season and will draft No. 8 overall.

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Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson runs against the Carolina Panthers during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen catches a pass in front of Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen catches a touchdown pass against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Chris Braswell forces a fumble by Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young looks to pass against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young scores against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young runs past Atlanta Falcons linebacker Nate Landman during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young passes against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young celebrates their overtime win against the Atlanta Falcons in an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young celebrates after their Winn during overtime in an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

A choppy day of trading on Wall Street ended with a mixed finish for stock indexes Wednesday, as gains by several big technology stocks helped temper losses.

The S&P 500 edged up 0.1% after wavering between small gains and losses much of the day. Most of the stocks in the index lost ground, but solid gains for several heavyweight technology companies like Nvidia helped counter a decline in health care and other sectors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.7%.

Super Micro Computer surged 15.7% after signing a partnership agreement with Saudi Arabian data center company DataVolt. Advanced Micro Devices gained 4.7% after announcing a $6 billion stock buyback program.

Nvidia rose 4.2% and Google parent Alphabet added 3.7%.

Other big gainers included eToro Group, a retail trading platform for stocks and cryptocurrency. It rose 28.8% in its first day of trading.

The market has been relatively steady since its surge on Monday, which came after the U.S. and China entered a 90-day pause in their trade war. The market gained some more ground on Tuesday after the government reported that inflation unexpectedly cooled across the country in April. Additional updates on inflation and retail sales are expected on Thursday.

The benchmark S&P 500 index, which sits at the center many 401(k) accounts, has erased all its losses since President Donald Trump escalated his global trade war in early April. It has now also erased its losses for the year and is back to within 4.1% of its all-time high set in February.

“The stock market’s rally has legs, as the trade negotiation with China was seemingly the toughest one on the docket," said Rick Gardner, chief investment officer at RGA Investments.

Trump has delayed a large swath of his most severe tariffs against America's trading partners, but some import taxes remain in place. Uncertainty over the path ahead continues to hang over businesses and consumers. The on-again-off-again nature of Trump’s trade policy has left companies reluctant to make plans about investment and hiring and consumers nervous about spending.

Businesses continue to trim or withdraw their financial forecasts as they face unpredictable trade policy and cautious consumers.

American Eagle fell 6.4% after the retailer withdrew its financial outlook for the year citing “macro uncertainty.” General Motors, UPS, Kraft Heinz and JetBlue are among the many companies representing a wide range of industries that have warned about the impact of tariffs and a weakening economy.

More than 90% of companies in the S&P 500 have reported earnings for their latest quarter. The majority of companies have reported better-than-expected earnings, but forecasts for earnings growth during the current quarter have been broadly cut in half for companies in the index.

The economy has already showed signs of slowing. It shrank 0.3% during the first quarter amid a surge of imports as businesses and consumers tried to stock up amid tariffs and policy uncertainty.

Inflation remains a big concern. The latest data on consumer prices released Tuesday showed that tariffs haven’t had much impact yet. But that could change as the impact of current tariffs make their way through supply chains and delayed tariffs potentially go into effect. Inflation has cooled to just above the Federal Reserve's target of 2%, but the threat of higher prices on goods because of import taxes has heightened worries about inflation heating up.

The U.S. on Thursday will release its April report for inflation at the wholesale level, which is what companies are paying for goods. Economists expect an easing of inflation there.

The latest update Thursday for retail sales is expected to reflect a sharp drop to 0.2% in April from 1.4% the previous month.

Retail giant Walmart will also report its latest financial results on Thursday and its financial forecasts will be closely watched.

In the bond market, Treasury yields edged higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.54% from 4.47% late Tuesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which moves more closely with expectations for Fed action, rose to 4.06% from 4.00% late Tuesday.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 6.03 points to 5,892.58. The Dow fell 89.37 points to 42,051.06, and the Nasdaq gained 136.72 points to 19,146.81.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose in Asia and were mixed in Europe.

Specialist James Denaro works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist John McNierney, left, and trader Anthony Carannante work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Edward Curran works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Options trader Chris Dattollo works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Options trader Chris Dattollo, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, right, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)