Young will start as veteran Andy Dalton continues to rehab from a sprained thumb on his throwing hand, which he suffered last week in a car accident. Dalton was a full participant in practice Wednesday and is expected to be Young's backup.

"To me, it was taking the decision out of Andy's hands," coach Dave Canales said. "If you were to ask Andy, 'Could you go?' He'd say yes. And, for me, he's like a week removed from a thumb injury and I just want to make sure that we're putting him back out there in the right state and the right framework.