The Jonathan Stewart era of Carolina Panthers football is no more. Carolina released its veteran running back of the last 10 years on Wednesday morning.
Changes are certainly coming to the Carolina Panthers in 2018. Founder and long-time owner Jerry Richardson will be selling the franchise. Gone are both coordinators in Mike Shula and Steve Wilks. Now the Panthers will be parting ways with another mainstay in veteran running back Jonathan Stewart.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Panthers released Stewart on Wednesday morning. Carolina had drafted Stewart No. 13 overall out of Oregon back in the 2008 NFL Draft. What does the future hold for Stewart? How will the Panthers fare at the running back position now that he is gone?
Panthers have released RB Jonathan Stewart.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 28, 2018
Stewart will be entering his 11th NFL season at 31 years old in 2018. He made his lone trip to the Pro Bowl in 2015. Stewart has rushed the ball 1,699 times for 7,318 yards and 51 touchdowns in his 10-year career with Carolina.
Though he has only rushed for 1,000 yards once in his career, Stewart was a more than capable running back that showed he could succeed in a multi-running back offense. While he does have injuries on his résumé, there is still some tread on his tires given his usage with Carolina over the last 10 years.
As for the Panthers, it looks to be the Christian McCaffrey show going forward. Carolina did draft the former Heisman Trophy runner-up No. 8 overall out of Stanford last spring. McCaffrey had an up-and-down rookie year with the Panthers. While he was able to make plays out of the backfield as a receiver, he struggled running the ball between the tackles.
McCaffrey is a dynamic athlete, as illustrated by his time starring in the Pac-12 for Stanford. However, is he ready for a lion’s share of a workload in Norv Turner’s backfield? Carolina does have another running threat in franchise quarterback Cam Newton.
That being said, Newton has never been an overly accurate passer in the league. Newton is at his best when he has a reliable running game and defense to lean on. While the Panthers defense should be good again, what about the Carolina ground game?
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Stewart will likely find work on a team in need of running back depth. His days as a starter might be over, but he could still provide value somewhere. This move by Carolina was made to strictly open up more opportunities for McCaffrey. Keep an eye on both former teammates in the early part of next season.