Panthers to franchise tag OT Taylor Moton

Carolina Panthers use franchise tag on offensive lineman Taylor Moton.

The Carolina Panthers will be using the franchise tag on offensive tackle Taylor Moton. That news come via ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday as the deadline to use the tag on players, league-wide, was set to pass at 4 p.m.

The tag will now give the Panthers and Moton more time to agree on a long-term extension. At minimal, Moton is locked up for the 2021 season under a salary cap figure of somewhere between $13.5-14 million, per Schefter.

Per Spotrac, prior to Moton being tagged, the Panthers would have $37.2M in salary cap space this offseason assuming the 2021 cap is $185M. Due to COVID-19 keeping fans out of stadiums last season, the cap number is going to fall from last year’s number of $198.2M. The league has yet to set the official cap number.

In 2020, Pro Football Focus graded Moton an 81.2 overall mark. That was good for the 13th best tackle in the NFL last season, according to the football analytics outlet.

The 26-year-old was a second-round pick of the Panthers in 2017. In four seasons, Moton has not missed a single game in his career to date, including the past three years, where he made 48-straight starts.

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