Bill Simmons floats Bryce Young for Comeback Player of the Year award - "I'm glad he's not a bust"
Bill Simmons has chosen his favorite for the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award: Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. The award is generally given to those who have overcome difficulties in previous seasons to have a stellar year, but the sportswriter thinks that the Carolina star should receive it based on the obstacles he has had to overcome within 2024.
Bill Simmons thinks that, along with Russell Wilson, the Panthers quarterback should be rewarded for that. He said,
"Could Bryce Young win Comeback Player of the Year just from what he came back from in the same season? The 'Austin Powers I found my mojo award'. Nominees would basically be Russell Wilson and Bryce Young, right?"
Bill Simmons added that it is not just Young's performances that have impressed him in recent weeks. Rather, the way the Carolina star has carried himself has caught the sportswriter's eye.
Simmons said the youngster looked like someone who had lost all confidence after the first five weeks of the season but he has returned and is playing like a top pick. He is behaving like a player who went to the best college program in Alabama, adding,
"Bryce Young looked like he was being bullied in school, and he lost his dog, and his parents got divorced in like week five, and now today, he was really good in that Tampa game... I thought his demeanor was it was the guy from Alabama walking around, his chest out, making plays, creating stuff. I'm glad that he's not a bust, because we need more quarterbacks."
Bill Simmons has good reason to be confident in Bryce Young's revival
The first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft had a torrid season last year and the Carolina Panthers finished with the worst record in the league. He did not do too well at the beginning of this season and was benched for Andy Dalton. An injury to the veteran allowed him to come back against the Broncos and he has since re-established himself as the starter.
In the last two weeks, he has come into his own despite his team losing to the Chiefs and the Buccaneers. They have been close games, with Bryce Young throwing for more than 250 yards in both matches, at least one touchdown pass, and no interception.
Bill Simmons is not the only one thinking about the Panthers quarterback's re-emergence. He has acquitted himself well in the last few weeks and it suddenly looks like the future might not be so bleak in Carolina as originally thought.