CHARLOTTE — If you turned on the television or opened social media at any point in the last four days, you've probably seen Bryce Young on a whirlwind media tour that rivals anything he's done since his 2021 Heisman campaign.

Thus is the life of one of the leading quarterbacks in the NFL right now, playing at arguably his highest level since entering the league in 2023, who was leading or in the Top 5 of most major quarterback categories heading into the Panthers' Week 5 bye.

He began the week still at the Panthers facility, using the downtime to study film and make a few appearances on ESPN shows.

"Yeah, look ahead, just keeping the body right, all that stuff," Young shared on Tuesday after returning from time off. "Good opportunity to reset and, now obviously we're back to work."

Then, when the weekend arrived, Young was off, jet-setting first to Tuscaloosa, where the former Alabama QB served as the celebrity guest picker on College Gameday. He went 5-6 overall on his picks, but the day was more about reconnecting with his former coach, Nick Saban, and getting to visit the campus that helped make him a star.

"Obviously it was cool being able to go back for a little bit. That was fun. But outside of that, I'm not on social or anything, so I don't really know the extent of stuff," said Young, who was showered in a chorus of MVP chants from Bama faithfuls when he arrived at the Gameday set Saturday morning.

He returned to the Carolinas for a meet-and-greet Sunday morning in Raleigh, welcoming fans who began camping out Saturday evening for a place in line, even amid the remnants of Hurricane Isaias. Then, he wrapped up his weekend "off" with an appearance on the ManningCast, alongside Peyton and Eli Manning for Monday Night Football.

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So when he walked back in the door Tuesday morning to begin preparations for the Eagles and a Week 6 matchup, it was with a sense of relief.

This was pure football. This was where he's most comfortable.

"It was good, some cool experiences, but you definitely miss, you miss football, you miss the locker room, miss everyone, so I'm super excited to be back," admitted Young. "But, again, it's really nice to be back; you miss a ball for the week. I don't want to say you take it for granted, but whenever you're able to have time away from it, it just makes you appreciate it more.

"So, all I know is I'm super excited to be back for this week."

It was a lot for a guy who prefers to stay out of the limelight, as much as being an NFL quarterback allows. Young hasn't even been on social media since his sophomore year of college. Any posts are from his team, and he doesn't have the apps on his phone (a basic iPhone with a blank background, to eliminate any possible distractions).

"It's not like a, I guess it's not even really football-driven; it's just honestly not for me," he said, shrugging.

There are things he'll still see if a manager, family member, or teammate thinks it's worth sharing with the quarterback. Sometimes it's a video edit of him (those have been extra popular on social media this past week), sometimes it's a relevant topic, sometimes it's simply a funny meme.

"If it's that big, normally someone will give me an update or show me something that's really important," he said. "Then yeah, every once in a while it'd be like a funny picture that we could all laugh at with something or someone on the team, so yeah, it's fun for moments like that."

And of course, no social post was more relevant, timely, or important for Young to see than Rod Wave's post two years ago asking the quarterback to call him during a rough period.

"Someone texted 'This was crazy,'" Young recalled, telling the story this week. "This is a while ago, but someone texted me like, 'Oh, like, how was it with Rod Wave,' and I was like, 'What are you talking about?' And then they gave me the backstory, but that was a while ago."

It was, in fact, a while ago; a lot has changed since then, and if you need a refresher, just watch any of the edits currently populating social media.

But one thing has stayed the same: Bryce Young's approach, even as the outside world pays closer attention.

"This type of attention is earned by working hard every day, by trying to find out how good you can be mastering different parts of your game," said Canales. And that is what he's seen in his quarterback, even as Young has jetted across the Southeast and appeared on more TV in the past week than he's probably watched himself.

"His natural growth and progression just continues to take strides every week as he learns new things about certain defenses, as he learns new things about his guys, about our players, and this is right on par," continued Canales.

"The goal is to just be focused on the Eagles, on this practice, and that's what I've seen from Bryce. He hasn't changed regardless of circumstances, whether it be in a positive way, this way, or whether it's been in a negative way at different times.

"The nature of the position: you have to be able to hear those things, see those things, and the bottom line is that what matters is our preparation for today."