CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Carolina Panthers right tackle Taylor Moton has returned to practice for the first time since doctors discovered multiple blood clots in his right lung, giving an emotional boost to a team that has been dealing with numerous injuries.
The Panthers on Tuesday opened the 21-day practice windows for Moton, defensive tackle Turk Wharton and running back Trevor Etienne to return from injuries.
Wide receiver Jalen Coker also was back on the field following the team's bye week. He missed Carolina's Week 4 win over the Detroit Lions with a quadriceps injury.
The 32-year-old Moton, who coach Dave Canales referred to as the “the fun uncle” of the team, said he's preparing as if he is going to play Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Panthers could certainly use him with rookie right tackle Monroe Freeling dealing with a knee injury. Freeling started the first four games.
Moton said he first experienced symptoms when he returned to Charlotte in late June after hosting a youth football camp in Lansing, Michigan. He felt congestion in his chest and began coughing up blood.
He immediately went to a hospital.
Following a series of tests, doctors found multiple clots in his right lung. They also discovered he had “dangerously” high blood pressure.
Moton was placed on blood thinners.
Panthers team physician Dr. Nancy Gritter told Moton it would be months before he would be cleared for contact, which would mean missing training camp, the preseason and the start of the regular season.
“The first thing I believe she said was, ‘This means no taking on bull rushes from (edge rusher) Nic Scourton,’” Moton said. “I was like, ‘OK, so that's no ball for me for a little bit.'”
Moton said he never considered retirement.
He was cleared to return to contact this week by doctors, who plan to continue to monitor him. He is off the blood thinners.
Moton described the situation as “scary.”
“It's just now what can I do from preventing it from happening again,” Moton said.
Moton said doctors have told him to stay “extra hydrated” and move around when he flies on an airplane.
Moton had been a picture of stability during his first nine seasons in the league, playing in 145 of a possible 146 games while starting every game but one over the last eight years for Carolina.
Jordan Gross is the only offensive lineman in team history with more starts (167) than Moton.
“I had to weigh the pros and cons of getting off the blood thinners and whether I could play ball again,” Moton said. “The chances are relatively low right now (of a relapse) after being on the blood thinners for three months. So I just decided to take those risks and get back to it. I love the sport and I love being in the locker room with the guys. I'm just happy I was able to get back to work.”
Canales said the energy from Moton and Wharton was infectious at practice. Wharton is coming back from neck surgery in May.
“The energy of it was right, the spirit of it was right,” Canales said of practice.
The Panthers lost starting cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson, along with wide receiver Xavier Legette, to IR before the bye week. Horn and Jackson are each expected to miss eight weeks, a huge blow to the secondary.
Also, the team placed defensive tackle Cam Jackson on season-ending IR Tuesday with a shoulder injury.
After practice Tuesday, Moton advised his teammates to have “an attitude of gratitude” when it comes to playing in the NFL.
“Not taking it for granted,” Moton said of his message. “Along with that just making sure that when you come in here to work you do everything the right way and you put 100 percent into your preparation, not just in the building but out of the building. That's how you show gratitude.”
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FILE - Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Taylor Moton (72) blocks during an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jan 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Peter Joneleit, File)
An official in Tigray’s new federal-backed administration urged rebel fighters to lay down their weapons Friday, hours after a rebel commander called for continued resistance despite losing the northern Ethiopian region’s capital.
The calls came nearly three weeks after rebels trying to overthrow the government lost control of Mekelle, Tigray's capital. Government-allied fighters entered Mekelle on Oct. 4 after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, withdrew.
Redae Halefom Woldeselassie, the caretaker administration’s chief executive for political and public mobilization, said rebel forces were collapsing and urged fighters to enter a disarmament and reintegration program.
“This is not the time for settling scores, I call upon you to return to your homes and continue your civilian lives,” he said in Mekelle.
He dismissed the prospect of the rebels retaking the city and portrayed the conflict as serving a small group of leaders rather than the people of Tigray.
Hours earlier, Lt. Gen. Fisseha Kidanu, who was identified in a television broadcast as commander of the Tigray army, pledged to reverse recent military setbacks.
“Local militias across the region — alongside all volunteers joining the resistance — are expected to engage the enemy,” he said Thursday on Tigray Broadcast Media, a new rebel television station. His location was not disclosed.
Fisseha urged attacks on government-held positions despite his opponents’ advantages in drones and heavy weapons. The TPLF has also claimed to have inflicted heavy losses on government forces. The Associated Press could not independently verify those claims.
Ethiopia’s government subsequently established a six-month caretaker administration promising to restore services, help displaced people return and prepare for elections.
The government’s allies include the Tigray Peace Force, comprising former members of the TPLF’s armed wing — a division within Tigrayan forces that has complicated the renewed conflict.
Redae said Ethiopian troops and allied forces were conducting joint security operations, including measures to prevent looting. He promised preparations for displaced residents to return but gave no timetable.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, speaking Monday to the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, accused the TPLF of acquiring weapons and forcibly recruiting young people instead of disarming under the November 2022 Pretoria peace agreement. He said his government had done everything within its capacity to implement the accord.
At Ayder Hospital in Mekelle, Luel Berhanu, 22, and Samuel Belay, 20, said they were loading goats onto a truck in Finariwa, about 80 kilometers (49 miles) south of the city, when a strike hit around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.
They said four civilians were killed and about six people wounded. The AP could not independently verify the casualties or establish who carried out the attack.
Luel said the truck’s headlights were on and a drone was hovering overhead shortly before the explosion. He said the blast severely injured his right eye and right arm, leaving him unable to see through that eye.
Samuel said they were working as day laborers loading the animals.
Hospital footage showed Luel with a bloodstained bandage covering his right eye and dressings around his shoulder and arm. Samuel lay on his side with an intravenous line attached to his arm.
A witness interviewed by the AP reported movements earlier that day by fighters identified as Agew Shengo, a militia that has previously fought alongside Tigrayan forces in neighboring Amhara region. Luel said rebel forces had been in the area several hours before the strike but none were present when it occurred.
The renewed fighting has effectively shattered the Pretoria agreement, which ended the region's devastating 2020-2022 war. That conflict caused an estimated 500,000 civilian deaths through violence, famine and collapsed health services, according to researchers at Ghent University in Belgium.
Magnus Taylor, deputy Horn of Africa director at the International Crisis Group, told the AP last week that controlling towns and roads would not necessarily secure rural areas where Tigrayan fighters regrouped during the previous war.
“We shouldn’t imagine that this conflict is completely over just because the TPLF has lost Mekelle,” he said.
Amir Aman Kiyaro reported from Hamburg, Germany. Filmon Equar Hailu reported from Mekelle, Ethiopia.
In this photo taken with a smartphone Getachew Reda, center, a former Tigray leader and adviser to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, arrives at the airport in Mekelle, Ethiopia, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Filmon Equar Hailu)
In this photo taken with a smartphone, supporters gather to welcome former Tigray leader Getachew Reda in Mekelle, Ethiopia, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Filmon Equar Hailu)
