Panthers' Young cleared to play vs. Vikings after 1-game absence

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young has been officially cleared to play Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings after missing Week 3 with an ankle injury, the team announced Friday.

Young was dealing with an ankle sprain, and head coach Frank Reich originally said the No. 1 overall pick could miss up to two weeks. However, the Alabama product was a full participant after returning to practice Wednesday.

"It was good. I thought it was better than I expected," Reich said of Young's week, according to David Newton of ESPN.

Young completed 59% of his passes while tossing just 299 yards and two touchdowns against two interceptions in his first two NFL starts. Carolina's offense struggled in those games, failing to score more than 17 points in both appearances.

The Panthers had their best offensive performance of the season with Andy Dalton under center in Week 3, but that wasn't enough to avoid a 37-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks that dropped Carolina to 0-3.

The Panthers already ruled out safety Xavier Woods (hamstring) for Sunday's game against the 0-3 Vikings. They also listed linebacker Frankie Luvu (hip) and running back Miles Sanders (groin) as questionable for the Minnesota game.