‘Very grateful.’ What Panthers’ Bryce Young, Rico Dowdle said ahead of offseason
There will be several Carolina Panthers in Santa Clara, California, this week ahead of Super Bowl LX.
And two Panthers in particular showed up early.
Carolina stars Bryce Young and Rico Dowdle were on radio row Tuesday afternoon, and they took some time to virtually sit down with The Charlotte Observer and discuss the offseasons in front of them. View an excerpt of the interview below — and watch it in its entirety in the latest podcast episode of Processing Blue.
For Young, his immediate future is pretty straightforward. The Panthers told reporters a few days after the season’s conclusion that they were going to pick up the quarterback’s fifth-year option, keeping the former overall No. 1 pick in Carolina through 2027.
For Dowdle, it’s a bit more murky. The running back who eclipsed 1,300 scrimmage yards finds himself in a similar position he was in last February — the month before the Panthers signed him to a one-year deal — and because of that experience, he’s relaxed, perceivably unbothered by what’s ahead of him.
This seven-minute interview, facilitated by Bounty, was only part of the latest Processing Blue episode, hosted by Observer reporters Mike Kaye and Alex Zietlow. The pair also had a robust conversation about the return of defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, the potential emergence of Jonathon Brooks ... and Cade Klubnick?
Listen to the latest podcast episode at the embed in this story, or download it on Spotify, Apple Music or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also check out the show on YouTube.
Here’s a snippet of the interview below.
A sneak peek of the Rico Dowdle-Bryce Young interview with Processing Blue
Young on the team picking up his fifth-year option: “I never try to really never have any expectations. I’m very grateful, very blessed, try to take everything one day at a time. But just from my standpoint, I love the Carolinas. The Panthers organzations. I’m super grateful and super proud to be a part of the team. I want to continue doing whatever I can to push myself so we can be in the best situation.”
Dowdle on potentially testing free agency in March: “Like you said, I’m in a pretty similar situation. So at this point, for me, I’m pretty much just waiting until whatever that deadline may be, when they can start negotiating and things like that. And if something does get done beforehand, it does. But me, I’m sitting back, chilling, enjoying the time with the fam, getting my body and stuff back right, getting ready for next year. But other than that, the agency and everything, they’ll take care of the rest of that.”
Dowdle predicted he’d have a huge game against the Dolphins. On him having premonitions ... regularly: “Me, I’m more of a say it, speak it, make it come to fruition type of guy. I talk a lot honestly. (Laughs.) You could ask me probably every game, and I’m thinking about going out there and having a big one. That’s my goal. That’s what I want to do. So yeah. So I definitely say that has happened in the past before. I’m always trying to speak about doing something positive, and going out there and doing it.”
Young nearly lost the football that reminded him of his first career NFL touchdown pass. He found it, though, and still has it. Does he have any other memorabilia he treasures? “My parents have all that stuff, the collectibles, certain game balls and all that from the past. My parents keep all that. ... Honestly, me personally, I’m not a huge memorabilia type of person of my own stuff. I think for me, I value the memories more. So I’ll remember who was there, I’ll remember that moment. I remember going to the sideline (that game) and with other parts of my career. I remember those things. So for me, that’s what I hold onto.”
This story was originally published February 4, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
