CHARLOTTE — Bryce Young is getting a second shot at being number one. The Carolina Panthers quarterback will start on Sunday against the Denver Broncos. The news comes after Andy Dalton and his family were involved in a car accident on Tuesday. While no one was seriously injured, Dalton's thumb on his throwing hand was sprained, and head coach Dave Canales said they hope he could return to serve as the backup Sunday.

You know, a totally normal Wednesday. But for the even-keeled Young, it was handled in a familiar way.

"He approached it with such class and integrity, you know, this hard situation, and now he gets to get back out there and play some football," Canales said Wednesday of his young quarterback.

Canales informed Young of the circumstances on Tuesday night. After the former starter took the first-team reps during Wednesday's practice, it became apparent what was on the horizon. Still, Canales officially told the team as soon as practice concluded.

"Yeah, it's been a weird year for sure," offensive guard Robert Hunt laughed, off the peaks and valleys that have befallen the Panthers through seven games. "It's been a tough year, man, but I'm excited for Bryce to come out and compete. I'm really excited for him."

Young began the first two games of this season before the Panthers switched to Dalton. He has appeared in two other matchups since in end-of-game situations, against the Bears and versus the Commanders. Young has gone 37-65 (57 percent) for 299 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions this season.

Over the past few weeks, as Dalton has started, the hope was for Young to watch and learn, using time under the tutelage of a veteran in the league to grow his own game. Through mental reps on game day, making the most of whatever drives he gets in the action, or running the scout team, Young has strived to use every opportunity to become the quarterback the Panthers need him to be.

"He's been an absolute stud through this whole process," Canales bragged of Young Wednesday. "He's been engaged and involved in what we're doing and excited about this opportunity. And I'm fired up for him to just have another opportunity to get in there and play some football."

Added Young, "Just trying to get as many reps, mental reps as I could. Obviously having a ton of conversations with Andy, as I always have with my time here. But just again, just a different perspective."

The conversations with Dalton have benefited both signal callers, the veteran and second-year guy. It's a situation that could stress even the strongest of relationships, but Dalton and Young maintain their friendship was only made stronger.

"I've said that every week, every time that anybody asked me about how it's been. He's handled this whole situation really well, and I'm so thankful for it," Dalton said. "I'm so thankful for our friendship and what we've been able to build.

"There's things that I can lean on him for. There's things that he can lean on me for throughout the whole process of it. And it's definitely grown us closer, which I think a lot of situations – people have been in this similar situation, and it brings people apart, but for us, it definitely made us closer.

"Bryce has done a lot of really good things since being here. I think for him, you get a different perspective when you're not the one in there. So, I definitely think there's things that he's, being in the position that he's been in, see things and grow from it."

If there is one person in the Panthers locker room who could possibly understand Young's current mindset, it's Jadeveon Clowney. Both are former No. 1 overall picks; both saw their rookie seasons not go as planned. And both received a shot at redemption. The NFL has held a draft every year since 1936, but it means in history, there are less than 90 men who have felt the pressures of being a No. 1 overall pick.

The unique fraternity has allowed Clowney to be an encourager to his young teammate over the last few weeks. The message has been simple.

"Continue to believe in himself," Clowney said. "You know what got you here; you know how to play football. You were the number-one pick for a reason. And keep the haters away. They're there. You're going to always have them; I think I had them all my career. But I continued to believe in myself and know I could do this. I just tried to put the work in, and it got me 11 years in the league.

"I've been blessed to play that long after what I dealt with my rookie year. So, I think he's got a lot of football in him, and I'm just looking forward to him helping the team win."

While Dalton was starting, Young ran the scout team. It means Clowney has seen the quarterback up close and, therefore, the progress he has made.

"Oh man, he was saucing us up out there," Clowney exclaimed. "He is throwing dimes at practice. I just feel like he just needs time and more time in the playbook."

That time in the playbook could, presumably, be the biggest payoff to Young's time watching from the sideline. In every other way, he's worked to keep his approach the same.

"It doesn't feel different," Young promised. "It's football. It's a game, the same game that I've been playing and that we've been playing. So, again, it's the same practice field and the same meetings, regardless of what it is. It's just doing everything I can to help the team win. Doing everything I can do to contribute and follow the game plan and all we can throughout the week to put ourselves in this situation."

That steadfast approach, coupled with the familiarity established during the offseason, means Young can slip back into the offense with a group already familiar with his game. Hunt might have spent the last four weeks playing in front of Dalton, but he had over four months of practice with Young.

"It helps a lot," Hunt said of the previous play time together. "Like today that he stepped in. It was no fall off like we knew his cadence; we knew how you want to do things. You know, it's just about executing the game plan, saying what we have to do, and just attacking."

It also means the game plan won't change much, if at all. Canales said he kept the approach the same when switching from Young to Dalton earlier in the year, and will do the same again, allowing for a smoother transition across the other players on the field.

"Yeah, it's our system," Canales explained. "So, we have to, for the whole group, we got to keep taking strides with our run game and our pass game, you know, and the expectation for Bryce is just do your part, do your 1/11th, get us to the right runs, get us to the right passes and the protections and all that. These are all things that he's been a part of, that he's through this whole time."

While Sunday is an opportunity to see if and how Young has possibly grown in this offense, there is no guarantee it will be a lasting change. Canales was careful to make clear on Wednesday that this decision affects this week. Anything beyond that, to paraphrase Margaret Mitchell, would be next week's problem.

Knowing that everything or nothing could change, Young is approaching the week the same way he did every week he started last year and every week he hasn't this year.

"My job is always, no matter what, it would be the same level of preparation," Young said. "You always have to prepare like you're going to play no matter where it is. So, it doesn't change my approach or anything.

"For me, I never was out of it. That's just out of respect for the game and respect for the team, and knowing just how the league is. There's never a, take a step back or phone it in for a week. I have too much love for a game to do that."