Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young missed one game during his college career. 

After not even a month of playing NFL football, he will match that and more. 

Young is not expected to play Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks after missing back-to-back practices on Wednesday and Thursday. The injury, the team says, occurred at some point during the first half of Monday night's 20-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

As of recent reports, the Panthers don't expect Young to miss more than two games. And in the meantime, Andy Dalton will most likely get the nod to be the primary signal caller in the weeks to come. 

With Young's injury, discussions have risen regarding the quarterback's small stature. They are much of the same discussions that took place pre-2023 NFL Draft. 

The injury to Young happened sometime during the first half of the game against the Saints. Young never mentioned the injury and played through it for the remainder of the game, which, to Thomas Brown, the Panthers offensive coordinator,  was validation of the quarterback's toughness. 

“There was no flinch by him at all,” Brown said. “There was no mention of any injury throughout the game, which shows his toughness overall. So that should never be in question—him or anybody else. I think our guys definitely fought ’til the end. It was great to see him compete as well.”

With Dalton expected to start, some have suggested that the Panthers could be using Young's ankle injury to impose a quarterback battle after the 0-2 start. That isn't how Dalton sees the situation. The veteran quarterback said he's just filling in until Young is ready to play again. He did admit, however, that playing is more fun than watching — like he's done the past two weeks. 

“For me? Obviously. Absolutely. Absolutely,” Dalton said. “It’s always nice. I’ve had a certain way of operating, like, my whole career. And I think when you go from starting to being the backup, that’s one of the things that you miss.

“Scout team’s one thing. You’re lookin’ at a card and you’re runnin’ the other team’s offense. But when you get a chance to kinda take ownership of what you’re doing and to know how you want it to look and how you want it to feel and you actually get to execute it, that’s what makes football fun."

Without Young, the Panthers will try to claim its first win. Panthers head coach Frank Reich said he is confident in Dalton's abilities. However, that doesn't mean it will be Dalton's team moving forward. 

“My goal is to win,” Dalton said. “Especially here—this is Bryce’s thing. I’m not here to make this a competition, make this anything. I’m here to help the team.”

Frank Reich confident in Andy Dalton if he starts Week 3 against Seahawks

Bryce Young is nursing an ankle injury, meaning eyes are turning to Carolina Panthers backup quarterback Andy Dalton.

Feature image via Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports.