The Panthers announced today that they have cut ties with running back Jonathan Stewart.
In another difficult offseason move by (now official) General Manager Marty Hurney, the 13th overall selection in the 2008 NFL Draft learned on Wednesday that the team will be moving on from him as their main man in the backfield. The not entirely shocking move comes just days after the release of fellow veterans Kurt Coleman and Charles Johnson in the Panthers’ effort to free up cap space for the new generation in what is looking to be an expensive free agency period. In perhaps a twist of irony, the five-year, $36.5m contract that Hurney inked Stewart to in 2012 may have been one of the reasons Hurney was fired only six games into the 2012 season; Hurney had previously given a similar five-year, $43m deal to Stewart’s backfield mate Deangelo Williams.
More recently, Carolina signed Stewart to a one-year, $8 million contract extension in March of 2017 with a $1 million roster bonus owed to him on March 14th of this year; Stewart’s $5.2 million cap hit this year made the decision a little easier for Hurney with many other holes to fill in free agency, and the decision to release Stewart ultimately saves the Panthers over $3.7 million in cap room.
Stewart ends his time with the Panthers as the franchise leader in rushing yards, passing Williams in a 2017’s Week 4 victory over the New England Patriots; Stewart has 7,318 career rushing yards on 1,699 carries and when paired with Williams, the duo became the first teammates in NFL history to rush for more than 1,110 yards in the same season.
In another example of a difficult, yet understandable, business decision, Jonathan Stewart will go down as one of the all-time Panthers greats and fans can only wish him the best of luck in his next destination. Both Stewart and Johnson spent their entire careers with the organization, and it’s abundantly clear that fans will not enjoy seeing “J-Stew” or “Big Money” in another team’s uniform.
Play us out one more time, Stew. For old times’ sake.
Twitter: @KeepPounDENN