With Bryce Young settled at QB, Panthers can focus on rebuilding NFL's worst defense

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers aren't heading to the postseason, but they believe they’ve finally found a franchise quarterback.

And that’s big, particularly with general manager Dan Morgan needing to focus his attention on fixing a defense that had a historically bad season.

Bryce Young finished his second season in promising fashion with 21 touchdowns — 15 passing and six rushing — in his final 10 starts, including five in Sunday’s 44-38 overtime win over an Atlanta Falcons squad that was competing for a playoff spot.

It capped a remarkable turnaround for Young, who was benched two games into the season by first-year coach Dave Canales, a decision that led many to conclude the Panthers had squandered the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL draft when they traded up eight spots to get the former Heisman Trophy winner from Alabama.

To his credit, Young proved his doubters wrong, regained Canales' trust and gave a frustrated Panthers fan base some optimism that the team's seven-year playoff drought might soon come to an end.

“Absolutely, Bryce is going to be our starter moving forward,” Canales said when asked if Young has shown enough to be considered the team's franchise quarterback. “He earned that job. He won it. He took it and ran with it.”

That hasn't surprised Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble one bit.

He praised Young for fighting through adversity and keeping a positive mindset while continuing to work hard to improve.

“I have hyped him up from the day he got here because we have been seeing that the entire time,” Tremble said. “Now the whole world got to see it, especially being the last game of the year. He ended it on a high note and really let people talk about his quarterback play. He's elite.”

Young said he is “super grateful” for his second opportunity — one that only came about after veteran Andy Dalton sprained his thumb in a car accident on Oct. 22 and had to relinquish the starting job.

When asked if he feels vindicated, Young said, “I don't know if vindication is the word, but I always try to control what I can control. I just to be the best version of myself every day and I will continue to chase that. ... I want to embrace the good and the bad, and that is something that was a theme for this entire year.”

Canales said Ejiro Evero will return as defensive coordinator despite the Panthers breaking a 43-year-old NFL single-season record by allowing 534 points. The 1981 Baltimore Colts gave up 533 during a 2-14 season.

The Panthers played one more game than those Colts and allowed 31.4 points per game, the sixth-worst average in league history.

“I've played against his defenses and I know what this defense will look like,” Canales said. “And I'm committed to that and Ejiro is committed to that. So it's about developing the players we brought in and evaluating our schemes and being honest about that, and then seeing who is out there to (improve) our roster.”

Canales would not say if the entire defensive staff would return.

“I love EJ and I love his scheme,” Morgan said. “But I have to do my part as well, me and my staff, of putting really good players on the field and adding good pieces. ... We will continue to be aggressive. We will be smart, but we will be aggressive.”

Evero was put in a tough situation after the Panthers traded top pass rusher Brian Burns and cornerback Donte Jackson, allowed linebacker Frankie Luvu to get away in free agency and then lost two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Derrick Brown and linebacker Shaq Thompson to injuries in the first two weeks of the season.

The Panthers signed edge rusher D.J. Wonnum in the offseason, but he spent the first half of the season on injured reserve.

The good news for the Panthers is Brown said he should be back from a torn meniscus in his knee by the start of offseason team activities. Thompson's future in Carolina is more uncertain after he played in just six games over the past two seasons due to injuries. Considered the team's emotional leader on defense, Thompson has spent the last decade with Carolina.

The Panthers' biggest priority in free agency will be re-signing their lone Pro Bowl player, cornerback Jaycee Horn.

Horn has only played in 37 of a potential 68 games during his injury-plagued, four-year career, but son of former NFL wide receiver Joe Horn has been a shutdown cornerback when he's been on the field. The Panthers are expected to pick up the fifth-year option on Horn and then look to give him a long-term contract.

The Panthers have had a reliable core of specialists over the past three seasons that has included kicker Eddy Pineiro, punter Johnny Hekker and long snapper J.J. Janson. But Carolina enters the offseason with all three being unrestricted free agents.

Pineiro, at 88.1%, is the third-most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history and could command decent money on the free-agent market despite not being known for having a particularly strong leg.

The Panthers (5-12) finished with their sixth straight 10-loss season and will draft No. 8 overall.

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Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson runs against the Carolina Panthers during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen catches a pass in front of Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen catches a touchdown pass against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Chris Braswell forces a fumble by Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young looks to pass against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young scores against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young runs past Atlanta Falcons linebacker Nate Landman during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young passes against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young celebrates their overtime win against the Atlanta Falcons in an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young celebrates after their Winn during overtime in an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor,” died Monday. He was 74.

Ahn, who had suffered blood cancer for years, was pronounced dead at Seoul's Soonchunhyang University Hospital, his agency, the Artist Company, and hospital officials said.

“We feel deep sorrow at the sudden, sad news, pray for the eternal rest of the deceased and offer our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family members," the Artist Company said in a statement.

President Lee Jae Myung issued a condolence message saying Ahn provided many people with comfort, joy and time for reflection. “I already miss his warm smile and gentle voice,” Lee wrote on Facebook.

Born to a filmmaker in the southeastern city of Daegu in 1952, Ahn made his debut as a child actor in the movie “The Twilight Train” in 1957. He subsequently appeared in about 70 movies as a child actor before he left the film industry to live an ordinary life.

In 1970, Ahn entered Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies as a Vietnamese major. Ahn said he graduated with top honors but failed to land jobs at big companies, who likely saw his Vietnamese major largely useless after a communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975.

Ahn returned to the film industry in 1977 believing he could still excel in acting. In 1980, he rose to fame for his lead role in Lee Jang-ho’s “Good, Windy Days,” a hit coming-of-age movie about the struggle of working-class men from rural areas during the country’s rapid rise. Ahn won the best new actor award in the prestigious Grand Bell Awards, the Korean version of the Academy Awards.

He later starred in a series of highly successful and critically acclaimed movies, sweeping best actor awards and becoming arguably the country’s most popular actor in much of the 1980-90s.

Some of his memorable roles included a Buddhist monk in 1981’s “Mandara,” a beggar in 1984’s “Whale Hunting,” a Vietnam War veteran-turned-novelist in 1992’s “White Badge,” a corrupt police officer in 1993’s “Two Cops,” a murderer in 1999’s “No Where To Hide,” a special forces trainer in 2003’s “Silmido” and a devoted celebrity manager in 2006’s “Radio Star.”

Ahn had collected dozens of trophies in major movie awards in South Korea, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times, an achievement no other South Korean actors have matched yet.

Ahn built up an image as a humble, trustworthy and family-oriented celebrity who avoided major scandals and maintained a quiet, stable personal life. Past public surveys chose Ahn as South Korea’s most beloved actor and deserving of the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.”

Ahn said he earlier felt confined with his “The Nation's Actor” labeling but eventually thought that led him down the right path. In recent years, local media has given other stars similar honorable nicknames, but Ahn was apparently the first South Korean actor who was dubbed “The Nation's Actor.”

“I felt I should do something that could match that title. But I think that has eventually guided me on a good direction,” Ahn said in an interview with Yonhap news agency in 2023.

In media interviews, Ahn couldn’t choose what his favorite movie was, but said that his role as a dedicated, hardworking manger for a washed-up rock singer played by Park Jung-hoon resembled himself in real life the most.

Ahn was also known for his reluctance to do love scenes. He said said he was too shy to act romantic scenes and sometimes asked directors to skip steamy scenes if they were only meant to add spice to movies.

“I don’t do well on acting like looking at someone who I don’t love with loving eyes and kissing really romantically. I feel shy and can’t express such emotions well,” Ahn said in an interview with the Shindonga magazine in 2007. “Simply, I’m clumsy on that. So I couldn’t star in such movies a lot. But ultimately, that was a right choice for me.”

Ahn is survived by his wife and their two sons. A mourning station at a Seoul hospital was to run until Friday.

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki smiles for a photo on the red carpet at the 56th Daejong Film Awards ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, June 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki attends an event as part of the 11th Pusan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)