The Carolina Panthers have released their all-time franchise rushing leader Jonathan Stewart. Ian Rapoport shared the news about the release on Twitter.
The end of an era in Carolina: The #Panthers released veteran RB Jonathan Stewart, who played every snap of his career with the team. There was talk of a possible paycut but it wasn’t to be.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 28, 2018
Head coach Ron Rivera said about the release:
“Jonathan played the game the way you want. He brought an element of toughness as a runner that set the tempo for our team. He is a great pro and I appreciate who he is as a young man and thank him for the contribution he made.”
Stewart was drafted by the Panthers in the 2008 NFL Draft as the 13th pick overall. He became the team’s all-time franchise rushing leader during the 2017 season. During his career, Stewart has racked up 7,318 career rushing yards on 1,699 carries and 51 rushing touchdowns.
The end of the Stewart era seemed to be coming for some time. The Panthers selected running back Christian McCaffery with the 8th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. The two running backs shared the backfield this year, but everyone could tell McCaffery was going to be Stewart’s replacement.
Cutting Stewart may be sad to some Panthers fans, but this officially marks the beginning of the McCaffery era in Carolina. I would not be surprised if down the road McCaffery becomes the new all-time franchise rushing leader. It is unclear where Stewart will land next, but a contending team could use a veteran like him around.
