With former starting left tackle Ikem Ekwonu continuing his recovery from a ruptured patellar tendon, Rasheed Walker and first-round rookie Monroe Freeling have emerged as the leading candidates to protect quarterback Bryce Young's blindside entering the 2026 season.
While many around the league view the battle as one of the Carolina Panthers' biggest storylines this summer, Walker made it clear that he already views himself as the starter.
"I've always had that mentality.” Walker said. “I want to be on the field."
Rasheed Walker aiming to hold off Monroe Freeling for Carolina Panthers' starting role
Walker arrived in Carolina on a one-year deal worth up to $10 million with incentives, fresh off four seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
He took over as the Packers' left tackle from 2023 through 2025, making 48 starts in 51 games. Last season alone, he allowed just five sacks on 986 snaps.
Standing in his way is Freeling, Carolina's first round pick out of Georgia at No. 19 overall.
Freeling has the size NFL teams covet at 6-foot-7 and 325 pounds, plus the kind of athleticism and footwork that made him a draft riser. What he doesn't have is volume, with just 18 starts at left tackle in two years with the Bulldogs.
Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport recently broke down the top position battles around the league and landed on Walker as the eventual week 1 starter, leaning heavily on that experience gap. Reps in the NFL, even imperfect ones, tend to beat reps in the SEC when the lights come on in September.
Now none of this happens if Ikem Ekwonu is healthy.
Carolina's starting left tackle ruptured his patellar tendon in the playoff loss to the Rams, and his return timeline is still tbd. Dave Canales said this week that Ekwonu is "crushing" his rehab and that "his spirits are high," but don’t expect him back super early.
That's why Walker's comments carry a little extra weight. He's not just talking about beating out a rookie. He's talking about holding off the future of the position.
Walker's confidence isn't misplaced, and it lines up with what most outside evaluators expect. He's the better bet for week 1, full stop. But "his job" and "his job long term" are two different things. If Ekwonu returns at any point this season, or if Freeling closes the gap faster than expected, Walker's hold on the position gets a lot less secure.
For now, though, he's playing like the starter and talking like one too. In a prove it year, that's exactly the right approach.
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