The Carolina Panthers will see a different-looking Philadelphia Eagles team on Sunday. News broke Thursday that Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is dealing with blood clots and will not play. In his absence, Philadelphia plans to start Tanner McKee, who is more of a pocket passer. There’s also uncertainty about the status of other Eagles play-makers such as Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith, and Dontayvion Wicks.

On Carolina’s side, the injury news is far more encouraging. It proves how valuable the early bye week was for a team that needed to get healthy. Quarterback Bryce Young has been off to an MVP-caliber start through the first four games of the season, and the Panthers will be close to full strength on offense to support him. Still, one spot on the offensive line looks like a major question mark going into the weekend.

Jalen Coker is back, but Monroe Freeling’s status takes a bad turn

Wide receiver Jalen Coker will return after missing Carolina’s last game with a quad injury. Coker is a big part of this offense. In his absence, wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan delivered a monster game against the Detroit Lions. However, that’s not the kind of result you can bank on every single week.

Having Coker back gives Young another reliable option in the passing game. That matters even more coming out of the bye week, with the Panthers going up against Vic Fangio’s defense. It will be worth watching whether Young can keep his hot start going against that unit.

The offensive line is where the questions start for this offense. Rookie right tackle Monroe Freeling suffered a knee injury late in the Panthers’ Week 4 win over the Detroit Lions. Earlier in the week, it looked like Carolina would get him back. But, now he has now been downgraded to doubtful, which is a bad sign.

Stone Forsythe took Freeling’s place against Detroit and struggled against Aidan Hutchinson. Forsythe would be in line right now to be the immediate starter if Freeling is ruled out. And that’s a real problem for Young’s protection. The Panthers desperately missed their rookie right tackle once he went down.

There’s better news at left guard, though. Damian Lewis is listed as questionable with an elbow injury after missing the last game as well, and the team is hoping to have him back.

Running back depth takes another hit

The one offensive player Carolina will definitely be without is running back AJ Dillon, who has been ruled out with an ankle injury.

The Panthers were already without Jonathon Brooks, who underwent core muscle surgery earlier this season. Because of that, the coaching staff has been forced to overwork Chuba Hubbard. Losing Dillon only adds to that workload. The good news is that the team plans to activate Trevor Etienne back onto the 53-man roster and plan to elevate Tre Tyus again from the practice squad.

“We’re counting on Trevor,” head coach Dave Canales told reporters on Friday. “Of the three guys, I can say with real confidence that Trevor will be out there. We’ll need him to with AJ being out. But, again it gives us other opportunities to see Tre Tyus and what he can do, a guy that’s helped us before. So we’re counting on him too.”

The real X-factor to watch is Taylor Moton

The bigger storyline to watch on offense involves veteran right tackle Taylor Moton, who returned to practice this week after dealing with blood clots in his lungs over the last few months. It was a scary situation for Moton and having his presence back was a major boost throughout the week of practice.

“He gets back out there at practice, and you can just see how technical he is with his footwork, with his hand placement. And a great example for all the guys, for Monroe, for all these guys to see how you go about your work and being detailed,” Canales said.

However, Moton is still questionable for Sunday’s game and Canales said the decision depends on how he feels going into the game. If he plays, it would be a massive addition to have back in the starting lineup.

If Moton is able to go, great. If he isn’t and Freeling can’t play either, Forsythe would start at right tackle. That is the scenario Carolina should be most worried about heading into Sunday.