Panthers right tackle Taylor Moton has a fractured fibula and will be out “for a while,” coach Dave Canales said after Carolina’s 43-13 home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Oct. 25.
It’s a brutal turn for a player who had only just gotten back. Moton missed the first four games of the season while being treated for blood clots in his lungs, and Sunday was only his second game since returning against the Eagles a week earlier.
In case you missed what happened
Moton went down with 14:13 left in the third quarter on a Yaya Diaby sack of Bryce Young, according to ESPN’s Mike Kaye. The team’s own site reported that left tackle Rasheed Walker fell across the back of Moton’s legs while blocking on the play. Moton was holding his left leg and pounding the turf before trainers carted him to the tunnel. Carolina first listed him as questionable with an ankle and fibula injury, then ruled him out before the quarter ended.
Canales confirmed the fracture after the game. “Just sick for T-Mo,” he said, per Panthers.com. He didn’t know yet whether the injury would end Moton’s season, only that the veteran would miss an extended stretch. Pro Football Talk also reported the fibula diagnosis from Canales’ postgame comments.
So, who’s next up?
Rookie Monroe Freeling, Carolina’s first-round pick, stepped in at right tackle right away. He’s not new to the job. Freeling started the first four games while Moton was out, so the Panthers at least have a starter who already knows the spot.
Moton, 32, is the Panthers’ longest-tenured non-specialist. He was a second-round pick in 2017 and has started at right tackle for the past nine seasons, ESPN noted. This year, he’d played just seven quarters. He’s under contract through 2028, though 2027 is the last season with guaranteed money.
Why it matters
McGraw Media’s read: the football piece is manageable, because Carolina has already seen Freeling handle this job for a month. The harder part is what Moton has been through this fall. Coming back from blood clots to start again, only to break a leg in his second game back, is the kind of luck nobody should have to absorb. With 2027 the final year of guaranteed money on his deal, the length of this absence will also shape how the Panthers plan their offensive line beyond this season. For now, the only answer that matters is the medical one, and Canales was honest that he doesn’t have it yet.
This story was drafted with AI assistance and fact-checked by McGraw Media.
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