The Panthers will use the franchise tag on tackle Taylor Moton, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. This was the expected move, though a long-term deal remains possible. 
Moton, a 2017 second-round pick, has started 48 straight games at right tackle. The Panthers weren’t about to let him walk. Instead, they’ll tag him for the coming year for a yet-to-be-determined amount. In all likelihood, it’ll put him at around $15MM.
Pro Football Focus has graded Moton as a top-20 tackle in each of the past three years. He came in as a top-five right tackle in 2020, providing all the more reason for the Panthers to retain him. Now, the two sides will have until mid-July to hammer out a multi-year deal.
As a reminder: Offensive linemen are grouped together under the franchise tag formula, meaning that tagged guards often outperform their market. Tags for interior linemen are becoming more and more common, however — Brandon Scherff, for example, just scored his second straight.