Carolina Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart might miss another week, at least

Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart wasn’t expansive in his talk with the media on Tuesday, but all signs point to the eighth-year back sitting out a second straight game this week.

Stewart is battling a sprained foot suffered in the Week 14 win against Atlanta. Panthers coach Ron Rivera ruled him out of last week’s game against the Giants early in the week, and Rivera seemed to take a similar tone on Tuesday.

“(The athletic trainers) were talking about seeing how he is on Thursday,” Rivera said. “And we’ll go from there. If I’m going to err, I’m going to err on the cautious side.”

Outside of Cam Newton’s 100 rushing yards, the Panthers’ rushing game struggled to get going last week in Stewart’s absence. The running backs had 71 rushing yards, and rookie Cameron Artis-Payne got 43 of his 59 yards on the ground in the second half.

“Cameron Artis-Payne played well. It gives us confidence in a young guy like that to go forward,” Rivera said. “We’re going to be cautious, we’re going to be smart and we’ll see how (Stewart) is later in the week. Right now he’s going to continue doing what he’s doing with the trainers.”

Rivera said he’s comfortable with Stewart missing the next week or two, so long as he’s ready for the playoffs. Stewart was not on the field Tuesday but was out of his protective walking boot.

“I’m trying to get back as soon as I can,” Stewart said.

The Panthers did not have to release an injury report on Tuesday, but defensive Kyle Love was placed in the concussion protocol after the victory over the Giants. Safety Colin Jones (groin) and linebacker David Mayo (hamstring) were at practice without helmets.

This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Carolina Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart might miss another week, at least."