News
Email
Print
One happy camper
Panthers get a deal done with Stewart
AP Photo
Rookie Jonathan Stewart of the Panthers (28) talks to running back DeAngelo Williams during the first day of training camp.
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: July 27, 2008
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Jonathan Stewart drove down from Charlotte on Friday thinking that his agent and the Carolina Panthers had agreed to terms on a contract.
When Stewart got to Wofford College to check into his dorm room, he was told that the deal wasn't complete. So he stayed at a Motel 6. But he awoke to news that the deal was done, and by the time that the Panthers took the field for their first practice of training camp yesterday morning, Stewart was ready to go.
It was the best news that the Panthers could have received on Day One. With the signing of tackle Jeff Otah late Friday, the Panthers now have all their draft picks signed and in camp. That's a stark contrast to last year, when top pick Jon Beason held out eight days and missed 11 practices before signing.
Stewart, a running back from Oregon who was taken with the 13th pick in April's NFL Draft, got a five-year contract that could be worth up to $20 million, with $10.8 million of it guaranteed. He said he was glad to be signed, and glad to be in camp on time.
"Most definitely," he said. "I think everyone else around me feels good about me being here, and I feel good that everybody feels good about me being here. It's good just being able to get here and start learning and get adjusted."
Stewart didn't take long to get a taste of training camp. On his very first carry, he was belted by linebacker Thomas Davis.
"I got the opportunity," Davis said, "so I wanted to welcome him to the league."
That was exactly the kind of introduction that Coach John Fox was hoping for.
Stewart's presence in camp from the start seems to be vital if he is to compete with DeAngelo Williams for the starting job at running back and lives up to the investment the Panthers have made in him.
Stewart missed all of the team's minicamp in late April because he was still recovering from toe surgery. Then, Stewart wasn't allowed to participate in the team's voluntary summer-school workouts, because school wasn't out yet at Oregon. So his only workouts had been with team trainers before yesterday.
"I haven't practiced since November, when I hurt my toe," Stewart said. "So I came out here and was like a sheep thrown into the wolves today."
The toe, he said, still gives him some pain.
"It's going to take some time for me to be my regular self," Stewart said. "I can feel it, but it's one of those things where it's bearable and it's going to get better as we work through these things. I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be with my toe."
Quarterback Jake Delhomme said his first impressions of Stewart were favorable.
"Certainly for Jonathan, this is very new for him," Delhomme said. "This is minicamp to him.
"He did not get to have the 16 practices that we've already had. But you can tell that he's pretty powerful, he's pretty explosive. Certainly when you put the pads on it's a little different, and everybody will be a little rusty that first day."
That's especially true for players who didn't know if they would be practicing or not yesterday.
Stewart literally didn't know that he would be practicing until he woke up and saw a text message from his agent yesterday morning, telling him the deal had been reached.
"My agent told me it was going to be done (Friday) night, so I made my way here," Stewart said. "And they told me, ‘It's not done yet and you're not supposed to be here.' So I had to find somewhere to stay."
So why did he pick a Motel 6?
That might be the most bizarre part of the story.
"Because," he said, "I had no money."
Now he does.
■ John Delong can be reached at jdelong@wsjournal.com.
Email
Print
ADVERTISEMENT
N.C. Politics
Federal Politics
See community events or add your own! Click here!
Advertisement
