Panthers Tackle Taylor Moton to Miss Time Due to Blood Clot in Lung

Carolina Panthers starting right tackle Taylor Moton will miss the beginning of the 2026 season.

The Panthers announced on July 21 that Moton has a blood clot in his lung, and it is not known when he will return. Moton’s injury sets up a difficult scenario, but one the Panthers prepared for in the offseason. Blood clots are a dangerous medical condition, one that has cropped up among multiple NFL stars in recent years.

According to a report from the Panthers’ official website, Moton was diagnosed with the condition in late June. He has been taking blood thinners and being assessed daily by the team’s medical staff. The report said that Moton was responding well to the treatment. Moton is expected to return sometime during the season, but the report did not specify when. He was placed on the non-football injury (NFI) list.

According to the National Blood Clot Alliance, clots are uncommon in young, healthy individuals and often go unnoticed. Blood clots are divided into two types: deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), localized in the deep veins of the arms, legs, pelvis, abdomen, or near the brain; and pulmonary embolism (PE), localized in the lung.

A DVT blood clot can often be misdiagnosed as muscle tears, charley horse, twisted ankle, or shin splints; PE blood clots can be misdiagnosed as a pulled muscle, costochondritis (inflammation of the joint between ribs and breast bone), bronchitis, asthma, or pneumonia.

Athlete-specific risk factors include: long-distance travel; dehydration during and after a strenuous sporting event; significant trauma; immobilization of a body part using a brace or cast; a bone fracture or major surgery; a family history of blood clots; an inherited or acquired clotting disorder; and congenital abnormalities of the blood vessels.

Moton has not previously missed significant time to injury. A second-round pick by the team in 2017, he won the starting job in 2018 and played in all 16 games the next three seasons. He appeared in 17 games from 2021 to 2023. He played 14 games in 2024 due to injury, but returned to form and played in 16 games with 15 starts in 2025.

Moton’s injury compounds an already difficult situation for the Panthers’ offensive line. Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu is still recovering from a ruptured patellar tendon he suffered in the Panthers’ playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams in January.

A 2025 study published in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine found that the average recovery time for an extensor mechanism rupture—which a patellar tendon rupture falls under—is 11.3 months; the return-to-play rate was 56.8 percent. It is likely, therefore, that Ekwonu will miss most, if not all, of the 2026 season.

It is a difficulty the Panthers have spent significant capital in the 2026 offseason hoping to mitigate. Carolina signed former Green Bay Packers left tackle Rasheed Walker and journeyman tackle Stone Forsythe in free agency. They spent their 19th overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft on Georgia tackle Monroe Freeling. They also have 2026 undrafted free agents Isaia Glass and Albert Reese on the depth chart.

Blood clots have sidelined several high-profile NFL stars in recent years. New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave missed the Saints’ season finale last year due to a blood clot in his lungs and was held out of the Saints’ offseason practices. Los Angeles Rams offensive lineman Alaric Jackson was diagnosed for the second time in his career in 2025 and was unable to participate in team drills during training camp.

New England Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore suffered from blood clots in the summer of 2024. Former NFL wide receiver and Olympic long jumper Marquise Goodwin had clots in his legs and lungs in the summer of 2023 and missed training camp with the Cleveland Browns. A PE blood clot ended the career of journeyman center Billy Price in 2024.

The Panthers will also be without starting cornerback Jaycee Horn. Horn cut his foot while running, but the injury required stitches. He is expected to return during training camp. The team also put undrafted free agent cornerback Jaylon Gilbeau on the NFL list.