Sunday’s blowout in Tampa got a little heavier for Carolina on Monday.
The Panthers placed right tackle Taylor Moton on injured reserve Monday, Oct. 26, and he’ll have season-ending ankle surgery, according to NFL.com. Moton fractured his fibula in Sunday’s 43-13 loss to the Buccaneers and was carted off in the third quarter, FOX Carolina reported.
Head coach Dave Canales filled in the details Monday. The break is high on the fibula, just below the knee, but he said the ankle took the worst of it, with ligament damage, per Panthers Wire. NFL.com reported the fibula itself won’t need a procedure. Canales said “we’re all hurt for T-Mo.”
In case you forgot how he got here
This is what makes it sting. Moton missed the first four games of the season while recovering from blood clots in his lung. He came back for Carolina’s Week 6 win over the Eagles and played all 79 offensive snaps. Sunday was only his second game back.
He’s been a fixture in Carolina for a long time, too. Over 10 seasons with the Panthers, Moton has played in 147 games and started 130, per FOX Carolina.
Who’s next up at right tackle
Monroe Freeling, the Panthers’ 2026 first-round pick, takes over at right tackle, the same job he handled while Moton was out to start the year, according to Panthers Wire.
The rest of the line isn’t fully healthy, either. Guard Damien Lewis (knee) didn’t practice Monday, per NFL.com, while quarterback Bryce Young (knee) was a full participant.
Why it matters
McGraw Media’s read: the Panthers already ran this experiment for four games, so Freeling isn’t walking in cold. The difference is that this time there’s no veteran coming back to take the job, which means a rookie is protecting Young’s right side for the rest of the year, with Lewis also banged up on the interior. To be honest, I was rooting for the comeback story. A guy works his way back from blood clots in his lung, gets two games in, and this happens. Wish him a smooth surgery and a full recovery. That matters more than the depth chart right now.
This story was drafted with AI assistance and fact-checked by McGraw Media.
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