20 carries? Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart ready to do ‘whatever it takes’

Running back Jonathan Stewart had 20 carries in the Carolina Panthers’ 27-23 victory at Seattle in October.

Despite missing the last three regular-season games with a sprained foot, Stewart says he could handle a similar workload Sunday against the Seahawks if that’s what he’s called to do.

“I’m here at my team’s disposal,” Stewart said. “Whatever it takes to get this W, whether it’s 20 (carries), whether it’s 10. Just how I’ve viewed it my whole time being here, I’m just going to do my job.

Stewart returned to practice Wednesday for the first time since injuring his foot in a Week 14 win against Atlanta. He said he doesn’t expect to have any limitations in Sunday’s divisional-round game.

“My whole thing was to get back for the playoffs (with) fresh legs and help my team,” he said.

Stewart was listed as full participation on Wednesday’s injury report, as were receiver Ted Ginn Jr. (knee) and safety Kurt Coleman (foot), both of whom missed the Week 17 win vs. Tampa Bay. Backup running back Fozzy Whittaker, who has a high ankle sprain and is not expected to play this week, was the only player on the injury report.

Stewart worked out with an altitude-training mask while he was sidelined so his conditioning didn’t fall off. He said he was in “pretty good shape” and looking forward to facing the Seahawks.

Stewart ran for 78 yards and had a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs in the Week 6 game at Seattle. Stewart finished the regular season with 989 rushing yards and 4.1 yards-per-carry average.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera said it was “outstanding” to have Stewart back with fresh legs, and pointed out the Seahawks were in the same situation with running back Marshawn Lynch.

Lynch missed the final nine regular-season games with an abdominal injury. He practiced last week and was expected to play in the wild-card game at Minnesota before informing the team Friday he wouldn’t make the trip.

Lynch’s status for Sunday’s game is uncertain.

This story was originally published January 13, 2016 at 4:57 PM with the headline "20 carries? Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart ready to do ‘whatever it takes’."