Panthers right tackle Taylor Moton was carted off Sunday with a fractured fibula, just his second game back after blood clot treatment cost him the first four games.
By The Beat Writer — CelebnMusic247
The cruelest Taylor Moton injury news of the season landed in Charlotte on Sunday. The Carolina Panthers right tackle suffered a fractured fibula in a 43-13 home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and will be out indefinitely, per TSN and Reuters via Field Level Media. “TMo is gonna be out for a while,” head coach Dave Canales said after the game, per TSN.
Hurt early in the third quarter
Moton went down with 14:13 left in the third quarter, holding his left leg after teammate Rasheed Walker fell across the back of his legs while blocking, per the Panthers’ official site and Reuters. Trainers examined him on the field and he left on a cart into the home tunnel, per TSN. Carolina first listed him as questionable with an ankle and fibula injury, then downgraded him to out before the end of the third quarter, per TSN and Panthers.com.
Canales confirmed the diagnosis himself. “It was the fibula. There is a fracture there,” Canales told reporters, per Reuters via Field Level Media. “But it was just sick for ‘T-Mo.’ Working his way back, getting out there.” Quarterback Bryce Young felt it the same way. “He’s as resilient as they come,” Young said, per Reuters. “He’s going to do everything he can; he’s going to work, and he’ll bounce back from it, but, yeah, just from the human side, I feel for him.”
A comeback cut short
Context is what makes this one hurt. Moton, 32, was diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs in June, was placed on blood thinners, and began the season on the reserve/non-football injury list, per Reuters. He missed the first four games, was activated ahead of last week’s game against Philadelphia, and Sunday was only his second game back, per TSN and Reuters. Sunday also marked his 130th NFL start in 147 career games, per Reuters. A second-round pick in 2017, he is the Panthers’ longest-tenured non-specialist and has been the starting right tackle for the past nine seasons, per TSN.
Freeling steps back in
Rookie Monroe Freeling, Carolina’s first-round pick, immediately replaced Moton at right tackle, per TSN. Freeling is not cold off the bench — he started the first four games of the season while Moton was out, per Panthers.com. The timing still stings: Carolina, now 3-3 after the loss per Panthers.com, has a short week before visiting Green Bay on Thursday night, per USA TODAY’s For The Win.
The 247 Take — Carolina can scheme around a missing tackle. It cannot replace what Moton represents — the veteran who fought back from blood clots just to play again. The Panthers’ season is not over at 3-3, but protecting Bryce Young just became the whole job, starting Thursday.
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Sources: TSN — https://www.tsn.ca/nfl/article/panthers-rt-moton-carted-off-field-with-ankle-fibula-injury-n1-50279064/; Panthers.com — https://www.panthers.com/news/rapid-reactions-panthers-fall-to-bucs-at-home-taylor-moton; Reuters via WIXX (Field Level Media) — https://wixx.com/2026/10/25/panthers-ot-taylor-moton-suffers-fractured-fibula-in-loss-to-bucs/; USA TODAY For The Win — https://ftw.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2026/10/25/panthers-taylor-moton-injury-update-dave-canales/92435622007/
