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Carolina Panthers starting right tackle Taylor Moton will miss time during the regular season with a concerning health issue, the team announced Tuesday. Doctors found a blood clot in his lung in late June.
Moton will be placed on the non-football injury list prior to the start of training camp. He will continue to be monitored by the team.
According to the Panthers, Taylor Moton was immediately placed on blood thinners after his clot was discovered. He is “responding well to treatment” and is being assessed daily by the team’s medical staff.
Moton is expected to return during the regular season at some point, though when is unclear. The Panthers had already made some moves to shore things up on the offensive line this offseason, and that should help fill in the gaps.
Prior to the Taylor Moton situation, the franchise had inked veteran left tackle Rasheed Walker in free agency. That move was, in part, to address the late-season injury to Ikem Ekwonu. The team also spent a first-round NFL Draft pick on Georgia product Monroe Freeling.
Freeling seems a natural fit to slide into Moton’s spot while the veteran continues to recover. He was taken with the No. 18 overall pick in the draft this spring, and expectations are high for a player who has the kind of collegiate experience he boasts.
Taylor Moton, a 31-year-old, is entering his 10th NFL season this fall. He has spent his entire career with Carolina after the Panthers took him with the No. 64 overall pick (second round) of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Moton signed a two-year, $44 million contract extension with the team last fall. That made him one of the five highest-paid tackles in the league at the time.
Originally out of Western Michigan, Moton played his college ball from 2012 to 2016. While in college he set a school record with 52 career starts.
