CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, the top pick of the 2023 draft, was held out of Wednesday's walk-through with an ankle injury.
Coach Frank Reich did not specify when Young was hurt in Monday night's 20-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints, although Young did finish the game.
He also did not elaborate on whether the former Alabama star might miss Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks, saying only that the game plan wouldn't change much if veteran Andy Dalton were to start.
"If Andy's the starter, we've got a lot of confidence in him," Reich said. "This is why you bring someone like him in. If he plays, we believe he gives us a chance to win."
Young did attend Wednesday's walk-through and took what Reich called mental reps.
"We'll see how he is [Thursday]," Reich said of Young. "He was out there locked in on every call like he was under center. So he's getting ready to play, whether it's this week or whenever, because every rep is important."
Young ended up being held out of practice Thursday as well.
The Panthers are 0-2 for the fourth time in the past five seasons. Young has struggled, ranking 27th in the league in Total QBR and 31st in passer rating (66.6).
He has led Carolina to only two touchdowns, and only one over the first 7½ quarters.
Dalton has played only two snaps -- one official -- the first two games. Both were on third-and-short yardage to leave open the threat of a quarterback sneak that 5-foot-10 Young isn't accustomed to.
Carolina was called for illegal procedure on Dalton's first play and opted to then punt. On the second, the 35-year-old made a pitch to the back for a first down.
Dalton has a career record of 83-77-2 as a starter for Cincinnati, Dallas, Chicago and New Orleans. He was 6-8 last season for the Saints, then signed a two-year, $10 million deal with Carolina in the offseason.
"Our goal is to put our team in position to win championships," Reich said. "Even despite a tough start, that's still our vision, that's still our goal, that's what we're working toward. My experience personally as a player and as a coach is that you're going to need somebody for one game or two or three somewhere along the line.
"And you're going to need to win those games. And if Andy plays, we believe he gives us a very good chance to win."
Reich said he first was notified of Young's injury Monday night when the quarterback was taken in for postgame treatment. He didn't make much of the injury until 24 hours later when the injury still was a factor in Young's practice status.
Reich admitted there's a strategic point when he has to make a decision on who will start, but he didn't say when that was.
"We have some general principles we operate by," he said. "Like how many days of practice is needed for a young player to play versus a 10-year vet. If he's a younger player, maybe you want him to practice a little bit more."
Carolina players said they had complete confidence in Dalton.
"He wasn't brought here to just be here," Adam Thielen said. "He was brought here that if he needed to go in the game, he could operate at a high level.
"I would imagine that whoever is in there, he's going to operate at a high level and we're going to find a way to operate at a high level."
Tight end Tommy Tremble agreed.
"We're all comfortable with whoever plays the game," he said. "And so we're ready for anything. That's the one thing Bryce and Andy have done is just prepare, prepare, prepare, so we're good regardless."