Bryce Young laughs off Giants employee's awkward comment about his height

When you’re an NFL quarterback, you have to learn to roll with the punches sometimes. Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young learned that lesson when Carolina traveled to New York for a preseason meeting with the Giants.

Before Young took the podium to take questions from reporters, a Giants employee adjusted the microphone for the rookie quarterback. That’s when the individual asked an awkward question.

“I’m 5’9, this won’t block him?” the employee asked. Young then responded by saying, “the difference between 5’9 and 5’10 is huge.” He also appeared to laugh off the comment before fielding questions.

This was so disrespectful to Bryce Young 😄

(🎥 @CookHimTatum)pic.twitter.com/EUQoZZ8yKV

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 19, 2023

To be fair to the employee, it didn’t seem like it was an intentional troll job or anything. He appeared to be asking a legitimate question, trying to make life easier for everyone. It wasn’t like he was deliberately mocking Young’s height in front of everyone.

Or maybe that’s what he wants you to believe (insert scratchy chin emoji).

But it probably wasn’t exactly what Young wanted to hear, either. He played it off well, though. A good sign of early learning from Carolina’s new leader.

Carolina played New York on Friday in the second preseason game of the year. Young saw limited action — as is to be expected for the starter. He threw just six passes, completing three for 35 yards. Matt Corral received the lion’s share of the snaps, completing 9-of-13 passes for 71 yards.

Jake Luton also played, completing two of his seven throws in the contest. He totaled 41 yards and accounted for the Panthers’ lone touchdown pass of the game.

Panthers head coach Frank Reich named Young the starter for the regular season early in training camp. Because Carolina will depend heavily on the No. 1 overall pick, he’s not seeing much action in the preseason.

In Carolina’s preseason opener against the New York Jets, Young again threw just six passes. He hit his targets four times for 21 yards. The Panthers lost the game 27-0.

The Panthers have just one more preseason game until the regular season kicks off. They’ll host the Detroit Lions on Friday, Aug. 25 to close out the preseason schedule.

Young will have a big test in Week 1, playing a division opponent to start the year. Carolina opens the season in Atlanta for an NFC South showdown with the Falcons. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET and the game airs on FOX.