Bryce Young will start at quarterback for the Carolina Panthers this week after Andy Dalton showed up on the injury report with a sprained right thumb on Wednesday.

Dalton was held out of practice Wednesday, one day after he was involved in a car accident while traveling with his wife and three children in Charlotte, N.C.

“Scary moment for sure,” coach Dave Canales said Wednesday. “Everyone was OK. Everyone’s healthy. Unfortunately in the accident he did sprain his thumb, so Bryce will be playing this week for us and we’ll be evaluating Andy day-to-day going into this weekend, see if we can get him up as the two (backup QB) on game day.”

Carolina (1-6) plays at Denver (4-3) on Sunday.

Dalton replaced Young as the starter in Week 3. Young, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, has completed 56.9 percent of his passes for 299 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions in four games (two starts) this season.

Dalton, 36, has thrown for 989 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions in five starts this season.

A 14-year veteran, Dalton has tallied 39,500 career passing yards with 253 touchdowns and 150 interceptions in 175 games (1686 starts), mostly from his nine-year tenure with Cincinnati (2011-19).

Dalton and Young are the only quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. Rookie Jack Plummer is on the practice squad.

–Field Level Media