CHARLOTTE, N.C. — During halftime at Soldier Field on Sunday, Carolina Panthers offensive lineman Brady Christensen saw something as rare as snow in the Carolinas.
Taylor Moton, the right tackle and Panthers’ resident Ironman, was talking to trainers about his triceps injury and looking very much like he wasn’t going to play anymore in the Chicago Bears’ 36-10 victory.
“To see that at halftime, that there’s a chance he might not come back or miss a few snaps or whatever,” Christensen said, “it was hard to see.”
Moton ended up sitting out the second half, when the news would get worse for the Panthers’ offensive line. Hustling downfield late in the third quarter to block for Jonathan Mingo after a long completion, veteran center Austin Corbett felt something pop in his left arm as he pushed the pile.
A day later, an MRI confirmed Corbett’s fears: a torn biceps that will require season-ending surgery. The imaging was only slightly better for Moton, whose triceps isn’t torn but still bad enough that he’ll miss this week’s home game against the Atlanta Falcons.
And just like that, the Panthers’ rebuilt line, which has ranked among the NFL’s best in pass protection, is missing two of its five starters and bringing back painful memories from 2023.
Season-ending injuries to Christensen and Corbett led to a turnstile at both guard positions and a barrage of sacks on Bryce Young. Seven players started at right guard and six started at left guard — a list that included journeymen Justin McCray, Brett Toth and Calvin Throckmorton. What followed were 62 sacks on Young, the second-most for a rookie QB behind David Carr’s 76.
The carnage prompted general manager Dan Morgan to spend lavishly on free-agent guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, who have helped solidify the line. Their arrivals moved Corbett to center and pushed Christensen into a backup role.
Morgan also signed free-agent tackle Yosh Nijman to a two-year, $8 million contract as an insurance policy behind starters Ikem Ekwonu and Moton. Nijman replaced Moton against the Bears and will start this week, ending Moton’s consecutive games streak at 120 — the longest for a position player in team history.
“I’ve been with him my whole time here and he’s one guy that I just always look up to and always study and always learn from because it’s rare to go that many games and that many snaps in a row,” Christensen said. “He really is truly an Ironman. And not only that, his remarkable play week in and week out.”
The Panthers believe their improved depth will help prevent the type of implosion that helped derail the 2023 season when Christensen (torn biceps) and Corbett (torn MCL) were lost for the year.
Christensen is a jack-of-all-trades who was an All-America tackle at BYU before shifting to guard his second year with the Panthers. But he’d never played center before he began taking snaps during OTAs in the spring. Christensen had one bad shotgun snap that got past Dalton, who picked the ball up in the end zone and flung it away to avoid disaster. Otherwise, he had a clean showing, first-year coach Dave Canales said.
Proving he can be a dependable, every-down center would be timely for the 28-year-old Christensen, who gets his first crack at free agency in the offseason.
“This is a huge opportunity for me. I’m excited. You play this game to play on Sundays,” he said. “And so I’m really, really excited and happy for my opportunity. I’m just gonna go grasp it, have fun, work my butt off, lean on the guys and just really take advantage of it.”
Corbett also will be a free agent in March. It’s unclear whether the recent injury history will affect Corbett’s market, although he’s made a big impression on Canales in a short time.
“Just another blow (for) a guy that just stands for everything that I believe in. The work ethic. The practice habits. The professionalism. His positive outlook in terms of what can be on the next drive,” Canales said. “My heart is with Austin. We had some good conversations and I really appreciate him for just getting this thing starting to go in the right direction with his attitude and the way he approaches things.”
Canales said the medical staff offered a wide recovery window for Moton, whose status is week to week. That will give Canales his first extended look at Nijman, who missed all of training camp with a leg injury. The 6-7, 314-pound Nijman started 22 games in four seasons with the Green Bay Packers after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Virginia Tech.
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“I thought Yosh showed he’s a big, athletic guy. He’s what we thought coming in here — to have a good swing tackle just in case something happens,” Canales said. “And he’s progressed really nicely just working through some of the preseason physical things.”
Nijman and Christensen will try to plug the holes on a line that has allowed the fourth-lowest pressure rate in the league, according to Pro Football Focus. Ekwonu is confident they can do it, the same way Chandler Zavala — Ekwonu’s former teammate at NC State — played well against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4 when Lewis was out with an elbow injury.
“I feel like we’ve got a great offensive line room, got a lot of guys that have played a lot of downs in the league and a lot of guys that are excited for the opportunity,” Ekwonu said. “I feel like they’re gonna put the work in, make sure there’s no drop-off at those positions.”
(Top photo of Dave Canales and Taylor Moton: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
