After it looked like the Carolina Panthers might cruise to their second consecutive NFC South division title, they fell flat on their face on Sunday. In a home game against the lowly division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Panthers got clocked 43-13. It was 33-6 at halftime as Carolina managed just 266 total yards of offense while also turning the ball over four times. Yikes.

Oh, well, it happens, right? No sports league is more week-to-week than the NFL. We all know that. However, the Panthers' loss would probably be easier to stomach as a one-off if they hadn't lost one of their most important players for the foreseeable future in the process.

During his postgame press conference, Panthers head coach Dave Canales shared that Carolina starting right tackle Taylor Moton fractured his fibula. He will be out indefinitely. Woof, for a Panthers team built around Bryce Young, Tetairoa McMillan, and its entire offense, losing perhaps its most dependable offensive lineman for a good while is just brutal.

The 32-year-old Moton is in his 10th NFL season and has seldom missed a meaningful number of starts in his career to this point:

We'll see how the Panthers try to survive without Moton. Unfortunately for them, they don't have much time to game plan without him. The Panthers will visit the Green Bay Packers this coming Thursday night at Lambeau Field, leaving them little time for earnest preparation other than walkthroughs in a short week. By no means is the Panthers' season over, but hoo boy, this Moton injury will likely be a tough one to overcome.

Who is Taylor Moton's backup on the Panthers?

For the time being, rookie Monroe Freeling is listed as Moton's backup on the Panthers' depth chart. He was a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.