Health

Panthers' injury misfortune hands the Bears an early Week 1 advantage

Chicago Bears On SI · Jul 22, 2026 20:22 · 4 min read

Panthers' Injury Misfortune Hands the Bears an Early Week 1 Advantage — November 24, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Taylor Moton (72) during the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Bears might not feature an elite pass-rush, but they should be able to capitalize on the Panthers already depleted offensive line in the season opener.

The Carolina Panthers' offensive line suffered a massive setback when starting left tackle Ikem Ekwonu tore his patellar tendon in the team's wild card round matchup against the Rams.

Unfortunately for them, they suffered another blow on the other side of the line. According to NFL insider Ari Meirov, their starting right tackle, Taylor Moton, will also be on the shelf to start the year after being diagnosed with blood clots in his lung. Fortunately, he was immediately placed on blood thinners and is responding well to the treatment.

With Bryce Young's early-year struggles, the Bears were always lucky to draw the Panthers in the season opener. While you hate to see an opponent suffer an early setback, Carolina being down both of their starting tackles (who also happen to be their two best linemen) helps their odds for the matchup.

Still, to their credit, they seemingly prepared well for this potential situation. They drafted Georgia's Monroe Freeling in the first round of this year's class. Many considered him to be the best pure left tackle prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft. There's some belief that he could make his living at right tackle, as he has some experience there at the collegiate level, but most thought he was a more natural fit for the left side.

Monroe Freeling and Ja'Tyre Carter in practice — Jun 9, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers tackle Monroe Freeling (57) and guard Ja´Tyre Carter (65) during the first day of mini camp at Bank of America Stadium practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Panthers also landed former Packer Rasheed Walker in free agency. Unlike Freeling, he has very little experience on the right side. He's primarily been Green Bay's starting left tackle since the '23 season. Playing Walker on the left side and Freeling on the right would give them two starting-caliber options even amid the injuries. What if they don't want to limit their 19th overall pick's upside by playing him out of position from the one they drafted him to play, though?

Still, the Bears have problems of their own to worry about on the defensive side of the ball. Carolina's injuries level the playing field a bit (which is saying a lot because the Bears should be back to full health by the opener), but their pass-rush is still lacking the juice.

Chicago's pass rush is by far their greatest weakness

Tyler Huntley running around Dayo Odeyingbo — Oct 26, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley (5) runs with the ball as Chicago Bears defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo (55) chases in the third quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Bears failed to make any significant improvements to their pass-rush this offseason. Montez Sweat is a solid starter, but they're still a few butcher knives away from a full set on the defensive line.

Barring an early-training camp trade for a disgruntled Alex Highsmith or annoyed Josh Sweat, they're seemingly putting all their eggs into the Austin Booker breakout basket. They also will be hoping that Dayo Odeyingbo will provide something after handing him a three-year, $48 million deal last offseason. The former has legs to stand on with the 23-year-old putting up 4.5 sacks over his 10 games last season. The latter? Well, we can only hope.

Their interior defensive line is similarly unchanged this offseason. Their only "big" additions there came via the free agent signing of Neville Gallimore and the sixth-round selection of Jordan van den Berg. Neither will move the needle much.

If Booker can live up to the hype, then concerns over the Bears' pass-rush might quickly prove to be overblown. However, it's impossible to bank on that at this stage.

Still, they should still get off to a hot start

Montez Sweat celebrating a sack — Jan 4, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears defensive end Montez Sweat (98) celebrates after a sack against the Detroit Lions during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Besides their quality depth, the Panthers are in virtually the worst injury situation possible when it comes to their offensive line. If only one tackle were hurt, they could at least slide the protection the other way to help the backup out. That becomes A LOT more difficult to do with both of them being down.

Not to discredit how well Jordan McFadden played in Chicago's divisional round matchup against the Rams, but there's a reason they felt more comfortable with him out there (while kicking Joe Thuney out to tackle), rather than reinserting either Braxton Jones or Theo Benedet at left tackle. He was playing next to two Pro Bowlers along the offensive line. Obviously not every guard has that luxury, but they do have guaranteed pre-snap help on both sides of them. Tackles are often left on an island.

There is a lot of concern surrounding the Bears' pass-rush after they failed to make any significant improvements there this offseason. Their Week 1 matchup should provide them with a great opportunity for a confidence-boosting performance right out of the gates, though.