Latest update on Panthers longtime starter could be cause for concern

Despite what long snapper JJ Jansen's career arc might suggest, nobody can play at the NFL level forever—and it sounds like the clock may be winding down on one of the Carolina Panthers' most trusted veterans.

>Right tackle Taylor Moton has been a solid and reliable starter for nearly a decade. The former second-round pick has played in 147 of a possible 151 games since he was drafted in 2017, having only recently missed four contests due to injury.

>But longtime Panthers beat reporter Joe Person believes Moton could be feeling the effects of his impressive run. Person wrote the following for The Athletic's offseason workouts recap from Monday:

The Panthers took Freeling with the future in mind. Ikem Ekwonu, who is still recovering from knee surgery, is in a contract year and right tackle Taylor Moton is showing signs of wear and tear as he enters his age-32 season.

In the interest of full disclosure, Moton started showing these signs sporadically last season—and seeing him get pancaked a couple of times came as a shock. Nevertheless, Moton still earned very strong grades from PFF—coming in at 80.5 overall, ranking 11th out of 89 qualifying offensive tackles.

>The good news is that unlike every other year since they drafted Moton, the Panthers have a solid backup plan in place. That would be Freeling—who played most of his college career at Georgia at left tackle, but also has some experience on the right side.

>For now, it appears that Rasheed Walker is in the lead to win the competition on the blindside—which would put Freeling on pace to be Carolina's new swing tackle. So if Moton winds up missing time or regressing in a bad way, the rookie should be able to step in and provide a solid substitute option.

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>This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers offseason: OT Taylor Moton showing signs of 'wear and tear'