Another member of the Carolina Panthers offensive line goes down as Amini Silatolu suffered a torn MCL during practice on Tuesday.
The off season has not been pleasant for the Carolina Panthers as injuries continue to mount for this team. On Tuesday, yet another lineman went down to injury as Amini Silatolu joined the growing list of players hurt during the initial practices this off season.
Related Story: NFL Draft 2018: 5 Best picks of the last five years
Silatolu became the second starting lineman to go down to injury as doctors returned information that he suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee. He was carted off of the field and initial reports were that he suffered a “sore leg.” That injury was eventually updated to a torn MCL. According to reports, he’s scheduled for surgery on Friday and the team will take it day to day before announcing the timetable for his return.
Silatolu was being primed as the main replacement for Andrew Norwell, who the Panthers loss this year to free agency. This injury comes less than two weeks after Daryl Williams went down with the same injury and a dislocated patella in his right knee. Now the question becomes how the Panthers will replace both Silatolu and Williams in two key positions on this starting line.
First, there is Taylor Moton who was originally competing against Silatolu as the main replacement for Norwell. When Williams was hurt a few weeks back it was expected that he would move into Williams slot and that Silatolu would take the position at left guard. Silatolu’s injury opens the door for undrafted rookie, Brendan Mahon who is expected to start on Thursday against the Buffalo Bills in the Panthers first preseason game of the year.
These injuries are a major concern as the offensive line was already a big question mark for the Panthers heading into this year. Carolina has consistently struggled to keep a healthy group of players in front of Cam Newton and losing Norwell further exacerbated that issue. Losing two key offensive linemen before stepping onto the field for the preseason is an alarming situation for a team looking to build off of last season’s playoff run.
“We just have some guys in the room that will have to step up,” Right guard Trai Turner said, as reported by David Newton of ESPN.
Without any timetable for either Williams or Silatolu’s return, it will be interesting to see how the team responds and rebuilds that line. This is an opportunity for Mahon to step into the role if he performs well on Thursday and throughout the rest of the training camp. Expect Carolina to look out to free agency to see what other bodies they can find to fill in this void.
This is the third serious injury that Carolina has experienced at this point in the year. Along with Williams and Silatolu, cornerback Ross Cockrell suffered a broken leg days after Williams went down to injury. Each one of these players was expected to have an impact as starters in their respective positions. The story line now becomes whether or not the Panthers’ front office can quickly rebound to rebuild these units and keep them healthy throughout the rest of the year.