Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young relates to at least one young signal caller who has had a rough start to his NFL career.
Young was a recent guest on “Pardon My Take” and was asked about his career arc and its similarity to the beginning of Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young’s career.
The former BYU quarterback’s NFL career started with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the 19 games he played for the Buccaneers, he threw for 11 touchdowns and 21 interceptions and completed less than 53% of his passes, according to ESPN.
Tampa Bay won just three of those 19 games.
He was then traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 1987. After being Joe Montana’s backup, he went on to win two MVPs and a Super Bowl as a starter.
“People back then didn’t want to coach a lefty. Ray Perkins got the head coaching job and he looked at me, like, ‘Bro, I hate lefties, and I hate scramblers.’
“Anyone who could run was like weird. You should stand there. Don’t go anywhere. Look, that was (the) prototype. I get it,” Steve Young said.
Steve Young’s thoughts on Bryce Young and Sam Darnold
While it’s way too early to compare Bryce Young’s career to the Hall of Famer’s, he too struggled in his first two seasons, even being benched for Andy Dalton before Week 3 this season.
He has since returned to the starting role, throwing 10 touchdowns and six interceptions and rushing for three.
“For Bryce, it’s getting to a place where you can actually show who you are,” Steve Young said.
He likened it to Sam Darnold, another quarterback who was labeled a bust early in his career but has had success this season. Darnold was drafted by the New York Jets, went to the Panthers and then the 49ers before landing with the Minnesota Vikings this year.
“He’s the perfect example: Jets — flailing around — bust, goes to Carolina, shows some signs. Let’s be honest. He sent up some smoke signals in Carolina when he was there, like ‘I can still do this. I don’t suck.’ But you still need more help,” Steve Young said.
“Then he gets to San Francisco, and what does (49ers head coach) Kyle Shanahan say? ‘I love this guy. This guy’s career arc could be great.’ And we all kind of said, ‘Oh yeah, what are you talking about? That’s crazy. He’s nuts.’ Then he goes to Minnesota,” he said.
Steve Young does admit that the 5-foot-10, 204-pound Bryce Young doesn’t meet the physical qualities of the prototypical NFL quarterback, but he has other strengths.
“There’s some guys that hit the pro game who have really thrived in college who look prototype. Bryce looks throw prototype. Probably not (as) big (and) as strong as the prototypes but runs around, makes big plays and been in the big games,” Steve Young said. “Bryce doesn’t know his ceiling. We don’t know his ceiling, and there’s filters he’s got to go through even if he got all of that help.”
But Steve Young thinks what Bryce Young has done lately could just be the beginning to his success.
“What you’re seeing today in the last few weeks is ‘Hey, look, I can survive here,’ and if you can survive, then you can thrive,” he said.
The Panthers play the Buccaneers on Sunday.