CHARLOTTE – The Panthers know they have a glaring need up front.

They could choose to begin addressing it as soon as today.

Tuesday is the first day NFL teams can use the franchise tag to keep potential unrestricted free agents from reaching the market. Under the terms of the tag, teams can lock up key players for a one-year deal worth the average of the top five salaries at the position over the last five years. The team then has until July 15 to reach a long-term deal with the player.

For the Panthers, the obvious candidate is right tackle Taylor Moton, and it remains a possibility that they will tag him between now and the March 9 deadline.

Of course, they’re still hoping to reach a long-term deal with their top blocker because that would provide short-term cap relief