BREAKING NEWS: Quarterback Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers has terminated his employment with the team today…..

“Bryce knew his read was open and didn’t stare it down,” tight end Tommy Tremble said with a smile.

“He turned his head and flicked it, and the second the ball left his hand, he turned around, pointed to coach [Dave Canales to say], ‘Completed, man!’

Swag wasn’t a word used to describe the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 draft during his rookie season.

He ranked near the bottom of the NFL in almost every major statistical category.

At times he looked shell-shocked during the Panthers’ NFL-worst 2-15 season, going 2-14 as the starter, with coach Frank Reich being fired after a 1-10 start.

But as Young insisted immediately after the season, he hasn’t lost his confidence.

Monday’s performance, while early, was the first real evidence.

It started early, when Young, who didn’t have a touchdown pass of more than 18 yards last season, threw a dime more than 40 yards to a well-covered Adam Thielen in the end zone.

It ended with the deep pass to Johnson, whose job was to get vertical and through a narrow gap so Young could see him and make his read.

Young did, fitting the pass perfectly into the window so Johnson could make a play.

“He’s a great quarterback,” Johnson said. “Accurate. Smart.

He knows how to get his guys in position.

Whenever we’re out there, you can always count on him to get us in the right spot and make sure everybody knows what they’re doing.”

Tremble agreed.

“He’s throwing the ball with confidence,” he said. “He’s not worried about a thousand things like last year. You saw that deep ball to Adam.

He’s having fun with it.

“The ball to Diontae towards the end of practice, he knew he’d made the play before the ball even reached the receiver.

So you can see that swag confidence. It’s exciting, man.”