Jonathan Stewart is the only healthy Carolina Panthers’ running back
By Hayden Kane
The Carolina Panthers have a number of running backs who are familiar to a national audience by now. That is more a result of fantasy football than any other reason.
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If you have played fantasy football, and you have found yourself scraping the waiver wires for a running back on any given week, then you are all too familiar with the myriad of running back options in Carolina.
That stable of backs includes DeAngelo Williams, Mike Tolbert, and Jonathan Stewart. Of that group, Stewart has struggled the most with injuries over the last number of seasons. That is not the case at present, however. It is quite the opposite.
In what Stewart readily admits is an unusual situation in Carolina, he is the only healthy running back they have got. From David Newton of ESPN.com:
"On Wednesday, Stewart and practice squad player Darrin Reaves were the only healthy backs with DeAngelo Williams (thigh), Mike Tolbert (chest) and Fozzy Whittaker (thigh) unable to participate.On Thursday, Tolbert returned on a limited basis, but Williams and Whittaker still were held out.“Yesterday seemed like the roles switched,” said Stewart, plagued by ankle injuries the past two seasons and a hamstring injury at the start of training camp. “Usually, I’m that guy on the bike.”"
Newton also notes that Williams is more likely than Tolbert to be able to play on Sunday.
Carolina has been able to run the ball effectively behind a remade offensive line over the first two games of the season. With a match-up against a weak running defense in the Pittsburgh Steelers, there should be success to be found for whoever runs the ball for Carolina, with Stewart looking to be the primary beneficiary.
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