The Panthers went into the offseason knowing that left tackle Ikem Ekwonu is unlikely to be available for some time as he recovers from a torn patellar tendon and they addressed that reality multiple times.
Panthers General Manager Dan Morgan signed Rasheed Walker as a free agent and then used the team’s top draft pick on Monroe Freeling, which sets up a competition that is going to be one of the focal points of the next few months for the franchise.
“In terms of Monroe, he’ll compete with Rasheed,” Morgan said on NFL Network. “We were lucky to get him in free agency, another guy we think highly about, a veteran who’s played a lot of games in this league. We feel like we have a lot of optionality there and looking forward to seeing those guys compete.”
Ekwonu could be back at some point this season and Taylor Moton remains a reliable right tackle, so the Panthers may wind up with more options than places to put them at some point this fall. Given how hard it can be for some teams to find two tackles, Morgan would likely file that as a good problem to have.
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