The Carolina Panthers are just five games into their 2026 season, and this certainly looks like a different team on both sides of the ball than a year ago. The offense is humming and looks balanced with quarterback Bryce Young playing the best football of his young career, and running back Chuba Hubbard regaining his standout form from 2024.

Defensively, the team has overcome a very rough start on opening week against the Bears and has settled in nicely. The club is still missing the cornerback tandem of Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson and is getting contributions from its younger players.

Panthers are still dealing with offensive line issues

Still, one aspect of Dave Canales’s club that has been dealing with adversity dating all the way back to January is the offensive line. You will recall that starting left tackle Ikem Ekwonu suffered a ruptured patellar tendon early in last season’s playoff lost to the Rams.

That forced Panthers general manager, Dan Morgan to make some big decisions. He plucked starting left tackle Rasheed Walker from the Green Bay Packers via a one year contract. He then used the 19th overall selection in April’s draft to select University of Georgia standout Monroe Freeling. 

Then came June when mainstay right tackle Taylor Moton was diagnosed with blood clots in his lung. That put Walker at left tackle and Freeling on the right side to start the season. Last Sunday, Freeling was dealing with a knee injury suffered against the Lions in Week 4 and was inactive at Philadelphia last Sunday. Enter the 10-year pro, who took the field for the first time in 2026.

Veteran RT Taylor Moton made his 2026 debut last Sunday

Pro Football Focus’ Gordon McGuinness came out with his updated offensive line rankings this week. Despite a 25-14 road win over the Birds, the Panthers’ front slipped from one spot from 25th to 26th. McGuinness took some time to mention the big change for Carolina up front.

“Right tackle Taylor Moton returned to the lineup for the first time this season, securing a 63.5 PFF pass-blocking grade and permitting a pair of pressures from 46 pass-blocking snaps in the win over the Philadelphia Eagles…”

Now comes a Sunday showdown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A season ago, Canales’s team unseated the Bucs as NFC South champions. It’s been a struggle for Todd Bowles’s club early in 2026 as the team is off to a 1-5 start. However, veteran signal-caller Baker Mayfield could make his return after missinng the last three games with a thumb issue.

Rookie Monroe Freeling isn’t quite ready to return to the field

Back to the Panthers. Freeling remains on the mend, but spoke this week about what he’s learned from a pro who’s made 130 starts (including playoffs) in 10 seasons.

#Panthers tackle Monroe Freeling is focused on getting better at his craft and getting healthy.

But he’s learned a lot from Taylor Moton. A fun story about a rookie learning from a vet here: pic.twitter.com/gsMESjZKZH

— Alex Zietlow (@alexzietlow05) October 19, 2026

If Moton remains healthy, it’s hard to fathom that Freeling will be back at right tackle anytime soon. And that may not be such a bad thing.