New role? Carolina Panthers FB Mike Tolbert just rolling with it

Carolina Panthers fullback Mike Tolbert was a fun-loving Pro Bowler in 2013 who averaged nearly 10 touches a game and led the team with a total of seven touchdowns rushing and receiving.

After an injury-plagued 2014 season, Tolbert is healthy this year and again ranks among the highest vote-getters among fullbacks in the early Pro Bowl balloting.

And despite a diminished role in the offense, Tolbert remains a fan favorite and a positive locker room influence.

“I’m embracing it,” Tolbert said Thursday. “I like doing stuff a little bit different, running different routes, blocking different plays. I’m enjoying it and hey, we’re 9-0 so I’m not complaining at all.”

Jonathan Stewart’s emergence as the Panthers’ featured back has meant fewer opportunities for Tolbert, whose average of 3.9 touches a game would be his fewest in four seasons in Carolina at the current pace.

In addition to Stewart’s increased workload, the Panthers also are running more two-tight end sets with Greg Olsen and Ed Dickson and fewer two running back alignments.

Plus, the Panthers are reluctant to mess with Stewart’s mojo.

“Right now Jonathan’s playing very well. He’s got a real good rhythm going,” said Panthers coach Ron Rivera, adding that Stewart also has been getting third-down reps that used to go exclusively to Tolbert.

Panthers’ coaches are keeping an eye on Stewart’s reps. After sharing the ball with DeAngelo Williams his first seven seasons, Stewart has become one of the league’s busiest backs following Williams’ offseason departure.

Stewart is averaging 18.8 carries a game – the fourth-most in the NFL – and is on pace to finish with 300 rushes, which would be the second-most in franchise history. Stewart’s previous season high was 221 carries in 2009, when he and Williams ran for 1,100 yards apiece.

Stewart’s been a workhorse the past month or so, averaging 22 carries per game over the past five games. While the Panthers are mindful of keeping Stewart fresh for the stretch run, they also don’t want to disrupt the league’s third-best rushing offense.

“It’s hard not to (keep Stewart in) because he brings so much energy,” Rivera said. “There’s been a couple games where you’ve seen him explode into the seam and all of a sudden the guys feed off of that. Right now he’s very healthy and he’s doing some really good things and hopefully we can keep that going.

“But we have to be aware as coaches. We’ve got to be smart.”

Stewart, who battled through injury-shortened seasons in 2012 and 2013, has credited yoga and other preventive measures during the offseason with helping to keep him healthy.

“Obviously, carrying the ball 20, 25 times a game takes a toll on you. So Week 10, 11, whatever we’re in right now, it’s going to be tough on him,” Tolbert said. “But he’s a pro. He knows how to get his body back right.”

Stewart said he and Tolbert have had no issues accepting their different responsibilities this year.

“We’re winning. We all understand our roles,” Stewart said. “It’s a business and it’s in the business of winning.”

Tolbert, who missed eight games last year with a broken bone in his leg, has seen his playing time fall off from his Pro Bowl season two years ago. Tolbert was in for 58.1 percent of the offensive snaps in 2013, a figure that has dipped to 34.4 percent this year.

And while his carries and receptions have decreased, Tolbert (5-9, 245) remains a skilled blocker.

“He’s been real solid,” Stewart said.

Every back wants the ball, but Tolbert is not going to make a scene.

“Just the way the plays have been called my role’s been changed. But I’m not worried about it,” he said. “We’re in a good groove right now. We’re playing pretty good so I think we’re just going to keep going and doing what we’ve been doing and just try to ride it out.”

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 5:49 PM with the headline "New role? Carolina Panthers FB Mike Tolbert just rolling with it."