Dave Canales made a tough decision to 'protect' Bryce Young moving forward

After days of speculation, the Carolina Panthers announced Tuesday morning Bryce Young won't play in the team's preseason opener against the New England Patriots.

Young, the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2023 draft, finished with a 2-15 record during his rookie season. He started 16 of the Panthers' 17 games.

Dave Canales said holding Young out was a move to protect the starting quarterback as Carolina builds its offense around his skillset.

"You can't play scared, but you've got to be smart, and so yeah, it's a factor for sure," Canales said of the risk of injury. "We're thinking about that. With the guys we're counting on, we're definitely taking that into consideration here.

"In our live move-the-ball periods, we're going ones-vs.-ones all camp, you know. Those are so valuable, especially at the end of practice when we're tired, we get into the move-the-ball setting. We'll have the Jets in here (for joint practice next week), and that's going to be a fantastic day. I can't wait. That's great work for those guys, so we've got to take advantage of those windows."

The question now becomes who will start on Thursday. Backup quarterback Andy Dalton is dealing with a quad injury that has sidelined him.

With Young officially out of the equation , Jack Plummer and recently signed Jake Luton will likely take snaps against the Patriots.