The Carolina Panthers ended their season on a high note after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the final game of the season while now getting a week off before the divisional round of the playoffs. However, while the win was nice, several big names were absent due to injuries. Even with the week off, the Panthers admit there are some concerns over certain players and their availability come next week.
The Panthers run game was a staple throughout the season, but over the last few games of the regular season it lacked Jonathan Stewart. The team's leading rusher has been dealing with a foot injury that caused him to miss the final few games. Even with more than a month off to get healthy, Stewart is not positive what his status is, referring to himself as day-to-day right now. According to the Charlotte Observer, the running back has been working out on a treadmill, but has yet to get on the field. Head coach Ron Rivera noted that the team is more concerned with getting Stewart's conditioning up first.
"The biggest thing we have to be smart about is his conditioning," Rivera said, via the Charlotte Observer. "He's been doing a lot of that as far as that's concerned. We expect to work him back into it this week, and hopefully by next week he'll be ready to roll. Got a lot of confidence in what we got (Sunday) as far as Cameron Artis-Payne is concerned. Again, what we can be as far as our running game, I have a lot of confidence in it."
If for some reason Stewart was unable to play in the upcoming playoff game, the Panthers might have some concerns. Fozzy Whittaker is dealing with an ankle injury which would leave Artis-Payne as the starter. He put up 44 yards on 14 carries while getting a score. Mike Tolbert also rushed 10 times for 59 yards. That was enough to beat the Buccaneers, but might not be enough to get it done in the playoffs.
The Panthers are used to getting the most out of their depth. After losing their leading receiver Kelvin Benjamin at the start of the season, the Panthers have been making due with players that no one knows. Ted Ginn Jr has been a star while rookie Devin Funchess comes off a game where he had seven catches for 120 yards and a score. The team has been able to make due and tight end Greg Olsen is confident that continues into the playoffs.
"At some point the narrative that we don't have a lot of good players has to probably come to an end," Olsen said, via ESPN.com. "We've seen throughout the course of the season we have guys that can contribute all over the place. You hear it every week. You heard it this week from one of their [Tampa Bay] guys this year, that other than Cam they don't have a lot of good players."
Olsen is right that Newton is their best player, but the team has proven they have the talent to get the wins needed. The Panthers cannot afford any more injuries heading into next week as they hope to get everyone healthy in time.