Panthers Amini Silatolu will miss rest of season

Another one bites the dust.

According to Pro Football Talk, the Carolina Panthers have been dealt another blow to their already porous offensive line, loosing left tackle Amini Silatolu for the rest of the season with a torn ACL.

Silatolu, the Panthers second round pick from 2012, was starting to gel with the left side of the line between solid veterans in left tackle Jordan Gross and center Ryan Kalil. However, now the Panthers will have to turn to Travelle Wharton or Chris Scott.

While the rushing offense has been decent for the Panthers this season, ranked seventh in the league, the 30th ranked passing game has left a lot to be desired. Quarterback Cam Newton, despite his mobility, has been sacked 15 times already in just four games including 7 times in Sunday’s 22-6 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Loosing Silatolu certainly won’t help.

The Panthers already have placed offensive linemen Bruce Campbell, Edmund Kugbila, and Garry Williams on injured reserve. Carolina will certainly look outside the organization for options, but the free agent pool in pretty dried up with it comes to offensive linemen.

For now, it looks like Cam Newton will have to continue to run for his life in what is looking more an more like head coach Ron Rivera’s last year with the struggling Panthers.