Rookie quarterbacks apparently took a beating in week two.
Both Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers – the number one pick in April’s NFL Draft – and Anthony Richardson of the Indianapolis Colts (number four) are out this weekend with injuries, according to reports by ESPN on Friday.
Young is coming off a Monday night home game against the New Orleans Saints, Young’s first home game as a pro. But he’s suffered a sprained ankle (Panthers’ Bryce Young to miss 1-2 weeks; Andy Dalton starting ) and Andy Dalton will get the start this Sunday in Seattle.
The Panthers, coached by Frank Reich, are 0-2, but obviously are rebuilding with the former Alabama quarterback, and it’s possible, Reich said, that Young might even be back in the lineup next week at home against the Minnesota Vikings.
As for former Cincinnati starter Dalton…
“This guy [is] playing at a high level,” Reich said, in the ESPN report. “The way he’s throwing the football, the way he works through progressions, the way he’s playing the game … since day one, when he’s walked through the door, I said he’s starter worthy.”
Dalton knows a bit about facing the Seahawks in Seattle. He’s done it twice, with mixed results: a win and a loss. “This is one of those places that first hits your brain,” Dalton said. “It can become a factor in the game if you let. But that is where you have to make sure you are communicating well.”
As for Richardson, it was an upper-body injury that’ll keep him out of Sunday’s game at Baltimore: a concussion, about as “upper body” as one can get.
Gardner Minshew will get the start in place of the former University of Florida signal-caller, ESPN reported (Colts QB Anthony Richardson still in protocol, out vs. Ravens).
Of note: the Colts will have to go without center Ryan Kelly, too, also concussed against the Texans. So Minshew has been getting valuable practice time with Wesley French, who played center against Houston after Kelly went down.
