CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rob Hunt and Monroe Freeling trained together at Bank of America Stadium over the summer. They’ve known since June the Carolina Panthers would be without veteran right tackle Taylor Moton for the start of the regular season.More recently, Freeling texted Hunt to tell him he would be lining up next to Hunt at training camp: The rookie from Georgia will get the first crack at replacing Moton.“He texted me and he said some things to me and I said some things to him,” Hunt said, “and I’m excited to work with him.”Since the winter of 2024, when the Panthers splurged on Hunt and Damien Lewis to fortify the guard position, offensive line has been a strength of Dave Canales and Dan Morgan’s tenures as head coach and general manager.How 2 NFL teams already increased their 2026 win totals Tyler Webb But that position group faces a huge test this year when it will enter Week 1 against the Chicago Bears missing the two players who have been their starting tackles since 2022.“That’s why depth, it matters so much in this league,” Morgan said Wednesday after the veterans reported to camp. “Drafting Monroe and taking the best player available, it happened to be a tackle, it worked out really well for us.”The Panthers’ selection of Freeling with the 19th pick came three months after left tackle Ikem Ekwonu had undergone surgery on a ruptured patellar tendon. Freeling, who started only 17 games at Georgia, was viewed as more of a developmental pick who could be eased along slowly.That plan lasted two months.Doctors diagnosed Moton with a blood clot in his lung in late June. He was immediately placed on blood thinners and began receiving treatment.“Once we heard about it, our doctors took good care of him,” Morgan said. “They attacked it quickly, did a great job and he’s in a really good place right now.”A blood clot in the lungs, or pulmonary embolism, can be life-threatening. So Moton’s long-term health trumps anything football-related. The Panthers proceeded cautiously in 2024 when D.J. Wonnum was dealing with blood clots in his arm after complications developed following quad surgery.“I love playing beside T-Mo, one of the better right tackles in this league,” Hunt said. “Just an unfortunate thing that happened to him. But he’ll be back before you know it and we’ll get going again.”Morgan didn’t offer a timetable for the return of Moton or Ekwonu. But the Panthers are optimistic both will return at some point this season.In the meantime, the tackle spots will be manned by Freeling and Rasheed Walker, who signed a one-year, $4 million contract in March after starting 48 games the past three seasons for Green Bay.The 26-year-old Walker isn’t as strong a run-blocker as Ekwonu. The Panthers can live with that if he keeps Bryce Young’s blindside clean.Walker allowed five sacks and 34 pressures last year for the Packers, earning a Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade of 70.0 that ranked 42nd among 89 qualified tackles. He was 71st in run blocking.Freeling, who turns 22 on Saturday, is an athletic 6-7 and 315 pounds who played high school basketball in Charleston. But he started only one full season for the Bulldogs, and said he needs to improve his pad level as a pass blocker.He’ll learn on the fly this summer when he takes one-on-one reps against Jaelan Phillips, Nic Scourton, Patrick Jones and the Panthers’ other edge rushers. Hunt isn’t overly concerned about how Freeling looks in July and August.“I never judge rookies because I know how hard it is. I know hard this league is. I think you only get better with real reps,” he said. “Obviously, practice is cool but I think you get better with game reps.”But Hunt said he’s fired up for Freeling.“To have a chance to come out Day 1 and compete for a job is special. I think he has all the physical tools to do that,” Hunt said. “He’s young, so I expect him to fire off the ball with an attitude. I’m excited to work with him. I’m excited to see what we can do.”Morgan was with the Panthers in 2003 when they drafted Utah offensive tackle Jordan Gross eighth overall in the first round. Gross started at right tackle as a rookie then slid to left tackle, where he became a fixture for the next decade.Morgan knows Freeling will take his lumps, but has no qualms about speeding up his development.“He’s a rookie. He’s gonna go out there, nothing’s perfect. Nothing’s perfect with veteran guys, either,” Morgan said. “I know what Monroe’s made of. He’s a competitor. He’s super smart. He’s gonna go out there, he’s gonna attack this thing and we have full confidence in him.”Derrick Brown, the Pro Bowl defensive tackle, plays on the other side of the ball from Freeling. But the first-round pick in 2020 understands what it’s like being thrown into the NFL fire immediately and being expected to produce. Brown, who finished with just 34 tackles and two sacks as a rookie, had some advice for Freeling.“I think the biggest thing for Monroe is gonna be absorbing the coaching. Taking in the coaching and not letting the outside noise get to him,” Brown said. “We all know this is a different league. And just being able to lean on T-Mo, Ickey, Rasheed, all the guys that have done it, that been through the trials and tribulations.”The Panthers have other options at tackle. They signed Stone Forsythe in free agency and last week brought back Brady Christensen, the Swiss Army knife lineman coming back from Achilles surgery.But Freeling will get the first chance while Moton is out. And like Morgan and Hunt, Brown is bullish on him.“We wish him the best in this experience he’s about to go through. But it’s one of those things where — I think he’ll be ready to play come September when we step on the field.”