Panthers QB Bryce Young seeks 'mastery of offense' under new play caller

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Bryce Young was a little surprised when head coach Dave Canales called to inform him that offensive coordinator Brad Idzik would be taking over play-calling duties after the Carolina Panthers took a big step in 2025 and won the NFC South.

He knew how much Canales loved calling plays.

But after speaking with Canales, the Panthers quarterback is embracing the change, saying that he’s thrilled about what Idzik — whom he described as having a “great offensive mind” — brings to the table.

Idzik plans to experiment with a variety of different plays during the team’s upcoming OTAs in an effort to best utilize each player’s skill set.

“I appreciate his willingness to put us in the best situation,” Young said. “It’s not this blanket ‘we’re gonna do X, Y, Z’ or ‘we’re gonna do this X amount of times every game’ or ‘we’re gonna run this concept X amount of times.’ We want to try a bunch of different things during OTAs. He wants to challenge us with some new things.

Young added, “So, we (as players) want to show him what we’re good at, and then as we find that out, it’s him being able to find different ways for us to get to that in the game. So I’m excited for that process.”

The fourth-year quarterback said players need to do their part by developing a “mastery of the offense.”

That means a deep dive into the playbook, thoroughly understanding all of its unique variations and concepts.

The hope is that will result in a more seemless approach, helping Young get in and out of the huddle faster and avoid delay of game penalties and unnecessary timeouts — an frustrating issue that has plagued the Panthers offense at times over the past two seasons.

“We want coaches to put more on our shoulders on the field because they trust us,” Young said.

Young made huge strides in Year 3.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft had career highs in yards passing (3,011), touchdown passes (23) and quarterback rating (87.8). Despite the offense sputtering down the stretch in part because of injuries to the offensive line, the Panthers hung on to win the division before falling to the Los Angeles Rams 34-31 in the wild-card round on Matthew Stafford's late touchdown pass.

Knowing that 2025 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker will return as the team’s starting wide receiver tandem should be “huge” because it brings some stability, Young said.

“It’s so much easier in the offseason when you have a plan, when you have a view, when you’re able to be player-specific in the things that we scheme and game plan for and want to work on in the offseason,” Young said. “When we have those conversations, they don’t have to be hypotheticals, which is definitely a luxury to have.”

McMillan, who grew up in California and competed against Young in high school, said he knew Young was a winner when he arrived in Charlotte last year as the No. 8 overall draft pick.

So he wasn’t surprised when Young led six game-winning drives last season, giving him 12 for his career — more than any QB in the league since 2023.

“When the money’s on the line the thing that surprised me was just how calm and collected he was in those moments,” McMillan said.

Coming off the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2017, Young is brimming with confidence and eager for the season to arrive.

But he said the Panthers “can’t take our foot off the gas” as they look to repeat as division champs, make a deeper run in the playoffs and continue trending in the right direction.

He’s confident Canales won’t allow that to happen.

“I have all the faith in the world in Coach,” Young said. “If he feels like (handing off play-calling duties) is what’s best for the team, then I know it’s what’s best for the team. I trust him and his decision.”

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FILE - Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) looks on before an NFL wild-card playoff football game between the Carolina Panthers and the Los Angeles Rams, Jan. 10, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman, File)

FILE - Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) scrambles to his left to avoid Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Poona Ford (95) during an NFL wild card playoff football game, Jan. 10, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Brian Westerholt, File)

FILE - Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young celebrates after scoring against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half of an NFL football game Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

FILE - Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young calls a play during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Jan. 10, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two U.S. officials killed in a vehicle crash as they returned from destroying a clandestine drug lab in northern Mexico over the weekend were working for the CIA, according to a U.S. official and two other people familiar with the matter.

Two Mexican investigators also were killed in the crash, which Mexican authorities said occurred while the convoy was returning from an operation to destroy drug labs of criminal groups. There have been discrepancies in the public accounts of what happened from U.S. and Mexican officials, which experts say underscores heightened American involvement in security operations in Mexico and across the region.

The CIA's involvement was confirmed Tuesday by the three with knowledge of the crash, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters. That the U.S. officials worked for the CIA was reported earlier by The Washington Post.

It comes after days of contradictions from Mexican and U.S. authorities about the role that American officials played in an operation to bust a narco-laboratory in northern Chihuahua state.

The lack of clarity from authorities reignited a debate over the extent of U.S. involvement in Mexico's security operations as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum faces extreme pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to crack down on cartels. Trump has taken a more aggressive stance toward Latin America than any leader in recent U.S. history, capturing Venezuela's president, blockading oil shipments to Cuba and launching joint military operations in Ecuador, a country also marked by criminal violence.

Trump has repeatedly offered to take action on Mexican cartels, an intervention that Sheinbaum has said was “unnecessary.”

The CIA officers were initially identified as U.S. embassy personnel by U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ron Johnson, who is himself a former CIA employee.

The U.S. Embassy declined Monday to identify the individuals or which entity of the U.S. government they worked for, but said the officials were “supporting Chihuahua state authorities’ efforts to combat cartel operations.” The embassy, State Department and CIA declined to comment on the identities of reports of CIA involvement in the operation.

Local Mexican officials originally claimed they were working with the U.S. on an operation, but later walked those comments back after the effort came under scrutiny from Sheinbaum.

Sheinbaum said she knew nothing of a joint operation between Chihuahua’s government and the U.S. despite reports that the Mexican army was also involved in the raid on the lab.

She maintained in a Tuesday press briefing that she didn’t know if the officials were part of the CIA but acknowledged that state officials and the U.S. “were working together.”

It’s a sensitive issue for the Mexican leader as she walks a careful line with the Trump administration, working to maintain a strong relationship to offset threats of U.S. intervention on cartels and tariffs while also underscoring Mexico’s sovereignty.

The CIA has recently expanded its collaboration with Mexican authorities, part of the Trump administration’s effort to stop the flow of illicit drugs.

The presence of U.S. intelligence officials in Mexican territory has been the subject of ongoing debate, which has only intensified after Trump’s military actions in Venezuela and Iran.

Last year, Sheinbaum said the U.S. had conducted surveillance drone flights at Mexico’s request after a series of conflicting public statements.

The most recent controversy surfaced in January over the detention in Mexico of former Canadian athlete Ryan Wedding, one of the United States’ most wanted fugitives. While Mexican officials claim he surrendered at the U.S. Embassy, U.S. authorities have described his capture as the result of a binational operation.

“There is a rise of hidden operations by the United States in Mexico under Trump,” said David Saucedo, a Mexican security analyst. “They're hidden because … the Mexican government has a discourse that they can't permit the presence of armed U.S. agents — it's a kind of violation of sovereignty. The Mexican government has always tried to hide this collaboration.”

Janetsky reported from Mexico City. AP writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum addresses the media at the Meeting in Defence of Democracy summit, in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

FILE - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during her daily morning press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)