Panthers' Bryce Young opens up about Frank Reich firing

Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young spoke with reporters Wednesday and addressed owner David Tepper firing head coach Frank Reich with the team at 1-10. 

"We all take ownership," Young said about the situation, according to Anthony Rizzuti of Panthers Wire/USA Today. "Especially offensively, it’s all of us. I think we all look in the mirror. There’s all things we could’ve done better. We all wanted to do better. It’s a collective unit. There’s no finger-pointing from players, coaches, nothing. We all could’ve been better, and we have to improve." 

Tepper insisted Tuesday that the Panthers "preferred" taking Young over C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans with the first pick of this year's draft. However, it's widely thought that Young's struggles coupled with the fact that Stroud is the overwhelming betting favorite to earn Offensive Rookie of the Year honors resulted in Reich's dismissal. Per ESPN stats, Young enters Week 13 ranked 29th in the NFL among qualified players with a 32.3 adjusted QBR and 31st with a 74.9 passer rating on the campaign. Across his first 10 games, Young tossed nine touchdown passes and eight interceptions. 

Meanwhile, the Panthers are ranked 30th in the league with an average of 265.9 offensive yards per game. 

"We all talk, we all feel like . . . again, you never wanna see people lose their job," Young added during his comments. "We wanted to, of course, come in — especially this being a new team — wanted to come in and conquer things together and accomplish our goals together. We all take responsibility in that not being the case." 

Special teams coordinator and newly named interim head coach Chris Tabor will guide the Panthers into Sunday's game at the 4-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While oddschecker listed the Buccaneers as 5.5-point favorites for that matchup as of late Wednesday afternoon, Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield acknowledged earlier in the day he expects the Panthers will embrace a "don't have anything to lose" attitude.