The Carolina Panthers offensive line could have another significant loss ahead of their divisional showdown with the Atlanta Falcons.
The Carolina Panthers entered Week 1 with some positive news for their offensive line as right tackle Daryl Williams was able to return from a knee injury suffered during training camp.
However, that was short-lived as he suffered another injury to the same knee that will end his season as he was placed on injured reserve.
The Panthers had some more bad news on Wednesday ahead of Sunday’s divisional showdown with the Atlanta Falcons. The team’s starting right guard, Trai Turner, is in the concussion protocol which puts his availability Sunday in jeopardy.
The loss of Williams, along with Matt Kalil prior to the season, certainly were tough for the Panthers. The team has done a decent job replacing the two tackles in the starting lineup.
The loss of Turner though will not be as easy to replace. He is one of the top guards in the NFL and coming off three consecutive Pro Bowl seasons. During the preseason, head coach Ron Rivera discussed his value as being one of the few consistencies this line has had this year.
The question now is who will replace Turner at right guard if he is not available against the Falcons. According to Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer the team was working Brendan Mahon, Amini Silatolu and Tyler Larsen at the position.
It is interesting to see Silatolu getting work at right guard even though he was the player that stepped in for Williams last week against the Cowboys at right tackle.
There is clearly uncertainty on the right side of that line and the team will likely need to decide who will get the start at right tackle first. In addition to Silatolu, the team has Corey Robinson who they traded for before the season as well as Chris Clark, who they signed this week.
If Robinson or Clark are able to prove they can handle the right tackle position, this would allow Silatolu to slide inside to right guard, which is his more natural position.
However, if Silatolu has to start at right tackle the team would likely go with Tyler Larsen. He stepped in as the team’s starting center when Ryan Kalil went down but that experience should give him the edge at right guard.
The injury status of Trai Turner is one that Carolina Panthers’ fans should watch closely as the week goes on.