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What is the biggest question facing the Panthers' roster heading into 2026?
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- What is the biggest question facing the Panthers' roster heading into 2026?
The Carolina Panthers are heading into the 2026 season with the most expensive offensive line in the league, and the team with the second-most expensive offensive line isn't even close.
In addition to spending big on this unit in recent years, the Panthers just went out of their way to upgrade their offensive tackle depth this offseason. They began by signing former Green Bay Packers starter Rasheed Walker to a one-year deal, then used this year's 19th overall pick on University of Georgia standout Monroe Freeling.
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Thanks to those foresighted moves, Carolina's season is still in play—as the injuries to starting tackles Ikem Ekwonu and Taylor Moton could've sunk their ship.
Here's Jordan Dajani and Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports asking the one big question about this roster, after ranking them 24th in the NFL:
A team not having its starting left and right tackles to begin the season would spell disaster for most teams, but not the Panthers. Free-agent addition Rasheed Walker will fill in for Ickey Ekwonu at left tackle, while first-round pick Monroe Freeling replaces Taylor Moton on the right side. Carolina also has a new center in Luke Fortner , who takes over for Cade Mays . This unit was pretty good when healthy. How will it look with three new faces?
The short answer is that we just don't know, and it's too early to tell.
However, the small sample size we have seen from the first-string offensive line during the preseason has been pretty abominable. The pass protection for the five drives that starting quarterback Bryce Young has seen this month has been awful, and the run blocking has been even worse.
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Hopefully, it's just a matter of jitters, and this unit will settle in once the real games begin. If not, their performance is going to keep a very low lid on Young's ceiling—and make it impossible for either Chuba Hubbard or Jonathon Brooks to get even a whiff of 750 rushing yards for the season.
Carolina doesn't have a transcendent talent at any offensive position that can overcome the kind of poor blocking we've seen so far. So with the resources already invested in this trench, there's not much left for the Panthers to do except hope that the group gets healthy and on better footing sooner rather than later.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: What is the biggest question facing the Panthers' roster heading into 2026?
