Panthers offensive tackle Taylor Moton is excited about the pieces Carolina has heading into training camp, but even as he remains focused on the task at hand, he's taken a peek beyond this year regarding his individual expectations.
With one year left on his contract, set to turn 31 in August, Moton has full confidence he's healthy enough and performing at a level to earn another pay day in the future.
"Looking forward, I do believe I have another contract in me," Moton said, per The Athletic. "But right now my focus is on the 2025 season and making sure I do whatever I can to have the best season I can for everybody involved."
Moton, who has been with the Panthers since they selected him No. 64 overall in the 2017 draft, carries a $31.4 million cap hit this season, a hefty fee for one the more underrated pass-blocking right tackles in the league.
Carolina hasn't done anything to this point to reduce that number after restructuring his contract in previous seasons, suggesting for now the team will let him play out his deal and then reassess.
Moton, for his part, said he loves the city and hopes to stay, maintaining the best approach is to show out for the Panthers in the season ahead.
"I fall back to control what I can control," he said. "And that's just having the best year I possibly can for the guys, for the organization, for the city. For a lot of reasons. It's important to me."
His quest to do so should be bolstered by a clean bill of health. Moton missed the first games of his professional career last season, two from Week 6-7, snapping a streak of 120 appearances, as well as a Week 17 contest. He's ready to put those issues behind him as he looks to begin a new run.
"My body's been feeling good," Moton said. "No triceps problems right now, no knee problems," he said. "The knees have been feeling good and excited about doing whatever I can (to play) 17 games plus -- plus playoffs. Every play is a sprint, but the whole season is a marathon."
He -- along with the rest of the Panthers -- will also benefit from an intact offense line. Carolina didn't lose anyone from the group over the offseason. The team re-signed center Austin Corbett, returning lined up between Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, with Moton and Ikem Ekwonu on the outsides. Backup guard Brady Christensen also inked a deal to stay, keeping Carolina's depth blockers the same, highlighted by swing tackle Yosh Nijman and Cade Mays.
"I love the group we have right now. I'm so happy the whole offensive line is coming back. That's something in this league (that is) very unusual," Moton said. "To not just have the starters coming back, but all the other people ready to go behind us, it's awesome."
Considering the Panthers were graded as the eighth-best offensive line by PFF in 2024, such consistency is an incredible sign for the continued development of quarterback Bryce Young and Carolina's chances of returning to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 campaign -- Moton's rookie year.
Should the offensive line find even greater success together, it'll likely be with Moton leading the way, after which he'll seek out the next contract he believes he still has in him.
