Jonathan Stewart (ankle) tweets he's out for Week 1 against Buccaneers
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| Stewart tweeted that he'll miss Week 1. (US Presswire) |
We're tracking all the Week 1 inactives right over here, but we'll also be hitting the big names on this glorious return of NFL Sunday football. One of those will be Jonathan Stewart, who tweeted that he won't play for the Panthers on Sunday because of an ankle injury.
As explained in our Friday injury report breakdown, the move was expected, but it means Stewart won't be able to repeat the success that he had against Tampa Bay in 2011. In two games against the Buccaneers last year, he rushed for 168 yards on 21 carries.
Sorry panther fans but it Looks like I'll be missing the game opener this year due to my recent ankle sprain!... fb.me/1IK2AawbF
— Jonathan Stewart (@Jonathanstewar1) September 9, 2012
For those without Facebook accounts, Stewart also added "I'll be helping my team today by cheering them on! lets go panthers!! #panther-nation."
Stewart received a hefty contract extension during the offseason, so we're sure to hear plenty of complaints about giving a running back lots of money only to see him on the sidelines. But the Panthers are smart to sit him in the opener -- DeAngelo Williams and Mike Tolbert can effectively move the ball up for Carolina's ground game, and getting Stewart healthy will go a long way toward making the Panthers' ground game more potent over the course of the season.
Fantasy-wise, obviously make sure to get Stewart out of your lineups, and get DeAngelo in. This applies for just about every league, as Williams is a consensus top-10 running back for Week 1. And CBSSports.com's superb fantasy team says to "consider rolling with Williams as a No. 1 Fantasy RB in his Week 1 matchup." Worst case is, he's a really, really strong RB2 this week.
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