Redshirt senior offensive tackle Carter Warren — who has been with the Panthers since 2017 — will not return this season due to an injury, head coach Pat Narduzzi announced on Monday. Warren hasn’t appeared on the field since the game against Rhode Island. Narduzzi thanked the long-time Panther for his commitment to the program and got emotional when he realized Warren had played his final game in a Pitt uniform.

“Carter Warren will be out for the rest of the year,” Narduzzi said. “I can’t thank him enough for all the efforts he’s made. It’s sad to think that he’s played his last ball game, you know, in that Pitt uniform. I don’t even want to think about it. He didn’t want to think about it.”

Narduzzi said Warren will now focus on rehabilitating his injury, preparing for his next journey to the NFL.

“We need to get him prepared for his next journey in the NFL,” Narduzzi said. “It’s only fair for him to be able to do that. So disappointed to hear that. But like I said, it’s been painful for him to even, you know, make that decision.”

Warren served as a mainstay on the Pitt offensive line since 2019, starting all 13 games at left tackle as a redshirt sophomore. He served as a key player on the ACC Champion winning team, starting all 14 games and protecting quarterback Kenny Pickett’s blind side. He earned All-ACC Second-Team honors in the championship-winning campaign.

Pat Narduzzi just announced that Pitt team captain Carter Warren will miss the remainder of the 2022 season.

7️⃣7️⃣, congrats on a great Pitt career!

» 40 games, 39 starts at LT
» 2021 All-ACC and ACC champion#H2P » @CarterWarren79 pic.twitter.com/QMPselKS6m

— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) October 17, 2022

With the long-time starter on the mend, Pitt will look to redshirt sophomore Branson Taylor to step up at left tackle. Narduzzi also acknowledged that redshirt senior Gabe Houy and redshirt junior Matt Goncalves can push for more playing time too.

Taylor has an opportunity this weekend to further solidify himself as the long-term starter when the Panthers travel to Kentucky to take on the Louisville Cardinals. The game will kickoff at 8 p.m. and air on the ACC Network.