The Carolina Panthers put right tackle Taylor Moton on injured reserve Monday, a move that was expected after he fractured his fibula in Sunday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Moton’s injury came on a Yaya Diaby sack of Bryce Young with 14:13 remaining in the third quarter. Moton immediately pounded the turf while clutching his left leg, and trainers rushed over before placing him on a cart that carried him into the home tunnel.
“I feel for [Moton] so much," Young said. "Such a great human being -- such a great guy.
He's so much of the glue for us in the locker room. Obviously, he's been with us for long; that veteran presence means so much.
He worked so hard to get back to where it was. It was obviously killing him not being able to be out there to start the year ... and [I'm] just praying for him.
He's as resilient as they come."
The injury fit the tone of a rough afternoon for Carolina, which struggled in every phase of the game. Young turned it over three times, including two interceptions, and was replaced by backup Kenny Pickett in the fourth quarter once the game was out of reach.
Tampa Bay piled up 258 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns, while Baker Mayfield needed only 11 pass attempts to manage the Buccaneers’ offense. He completed seven of them for 64 yards and a touchdown.
The Panthers also hurt themselves on special teams, with a muffed punt and a blocked extra point that Tampa Bay returned for a two-point score.
"It doesn't feel great, obviously," Young said. "We're all competitors. Losing, especially losing like that, hurts."
Those mistakes added up quickly. The Buccaneers scored 22 points off Panthers miscues, 19 of them in the first half, and used that cushion to finish off the lopsided NFC South matchup on the ground.
Carolina won’t have long to sort through it. The Panthers head to Green Bay for Thursday Night Football in Week 8, and the loss leaves them 1-1 against the NFC South this season even as they remain atop the division at 3-3.
"We don't have the luxury to lick our wounds here," Young said. "We play Thursday.
You've got to turn the page. We don't have a choice.
So, obviously, learn from it, watch the film, grow, and then we've got to move right on to Green Bay."
Young entered the game with 1,549 passing yards and 11 passing touchdowns and had been playing at a high level. He now sits at 1,712 passing yards, 12 passing touchdowns and four interceptions on the season after a poor showing against Tampa Bay.
The pressure around him is going to grow again if he doesn’t bounce back against the Packers. Young is in the fourth year of his rookie deal and is making $12.1 million this season. Carolina picked up his fifth-year option, which is guaranteed for $25.9 million, in the offseason, but the Panthers did not give him an extension.
That makes the rest of this season important for Young as he tries to earn one next offseason. He helped lead Carolina to the playoffs last season, where the Panthers lost to the Los Angeles Rams in a wild-card game at home. His turnaround has been one of the more striking storylines in Carolina, especially after he was benched for Andy Dalton in 2024 and many assumed his run with the Panthers was finished.
It’s only one game, and one bad performance doesn’t erase what Young has already done. But if he struggles again in Green Bay, the noise about whether he can be the Panthers’ franchise quarterback is only going to get louder.
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