Panthers OT ranked among top NFL free agents for - Panthers Wire

Looking ahead, the most difficult decisions facing the Carolina Panthers front office next offseason are arguably at the offensive tackle positions.

Aside from allowing Rasheed Walker to leave as a free agent, there are no obvious moves to make. Should they continue starting Monroe Freeling despite a concerning rookie season? Will longtime right tackle Taylor Moton stick around for the final year of his contract?

Then there's left tackle Ickey Ekwonu, who's spending his season on the fifth-year option off to the sidelines as he recovers from a patellar tendon tear.

While he hasn't lived up to what you'd hope for from a top-10 overall pick, Ekwonu is still a decent blindside starter, and that's not something that can be tossed aside lightly. Plus, how much will his game be affected by the knee injury?

No matter what the Panthers want to do with him, Ekwonu will become a free agent in March—and he's made the cut of Bleacher Report's list of the top 50 pending free agents around the league, coming in at No. 46. Brent Sobleski writes:

Ikem Ekwonu is a bit of a wild card, as he remains sidelined with a torn patellar tendon in his right knee from last season's playoffs. However, starting-caliber left tackles aren't easy to find. Ekwonu has started all 65 games he's appeared in (including playoffs). Having turned only 26 in October, Ekwonu will interest a lot of teams as long as he's healthy at the start of the offseason.

"Wild card" is putting it lightly. Ekwonu may be a 'B-' player for his career, but he was trending up before the knee injury and he's still only 26 years old. Then again, he has not yet established himself as a franchise left tackle despite four years of experience.

It's a tough call. Perhaps the best move for the Panthers is to give themselves more options by adding another offensive tackle, whether they intend to keep Ekwonu around or not.

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