Carolina Panthers 2026 training camp position battle to watch
· Yahoo Sports
NFL teams have wrapped up their respective organized team activities (OTAs) and minicamps, and after a near month-long break, they’ll pick things back up near the end of July for training camp.
The first preseason game takes place on Thursday, Aug. 6 on NBC when the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals face off in the Hall of Fame Game. The rest of the preseason’s first week will take place from Aug. 13-15, followed by Week 2 on Aug. 20-23, and Week 3 on Aug. 27-29.
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But before the preseason gets underway, teams must first report to training camp. The Carolina Panthers haven’t announced the exact day they report to camp, but below is their biggest position battle to watch this summer.
Position Battle: Left tackle | Rasheed Walker vs. Monroe Freeling
A screen shows Monroe Freeling of Georgia after being selected 19th overall by the Carolina Panthers during Round One of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium on April 23, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images)This is one of the more intriguing offensive tackle battles of the NFL offseason.
Walker, a 26-year-old former All-Big Ten selection, entered the NFL with plenty of promise, but he hasn’t really found his footing. In three seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Walker surrendered 14 sacks, 113 pressures, 88 hurries, and 11 QB hits while playing 3,161 snaps at left tackle, per Pro Football Focus.
Green Bay didn’t put up much of a fight to keep him after last season. And while he has three years of experience under his belt that Freeling doesn’t, that doesn’t necessarily make him a shoo-in to win the job.
Freeling was one of the better left tackles in college football last season. Playing 881 snaps for Georgia, Freeling allowed just two sacks, eight pressures, and six hurries. The 6-foot-7, 315-pound behemoth has turned a few heads during Carolina’s offseason, and he shouldn’t be counted out of playing meaningful snaps next season.
“I’m starting to gain more confidence, more of the controllables, the new things, like let’s say the snap count, like that’s new to me,” Freeling said. “We didn’t run off that in college. And I think most of the plays are pretty similar, but it’s just kind of different language.
“And so, now that I kind of, I’ve gotten more comfortable with my controllables, I can actually go out there and play football kind of free.”
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