Carolina Panthers full back Mike Tolbert out until at least Week 13 with leg injury
The Carolina Panthers took a huge blow Sunday night as two of their running backs went down with injuries during their loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at home.
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Already without their starting running back in DeAngelo Williams who was injured, the Panthers lost Jonathan Stewart to a severely sprained knee, and then fullback Mike Tolbert only a few plays later after he went down with a leg injury.
An MRI has now revealed that Tolbert incurred a hairline fracture in his right leg, and the Panthers were forced to put the veteran on the Injured Reserve/Designated to Return list.
The #Panthers have placed FB Mike Tolbert on IR/designated to return. LB D.J. Smith has been signed to the active roster.
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) September 23, 2014
By putting him on the IR list with designation to return, Tolbert will be out until at least Week 13. Considering that Williams and Stewart are both nursing injuries as well, the Panthers backfield is running out of options quickly.
With Tolbert out for a lengthy amount of time, the Panthers lose their best short yardage back and a quality blocker to keep quarterback Cam Newton safe in the pocket. Tolbert has scored 12 touchdowns in the last two season, vulturing one yard scores on nearly every occurrence.
Not all is lost for the Panthers, however, because at this point it looks like Williams will be able to play this coming Sunday. The issue is that Williams will certainly not be 100 percent healthy, so the passing game will have to take over.
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