Jonathan Stewart, Kelvin Benjamin Injury Updates

The Carolina Panthers are set to get Jonathan Stewart back in the lineup this week against the Green Bay Packers, and hopefully he’ll be able to take advantage of the weak Packers defense. Cam Newton has been on fire, but he is going up against a tough pass defense and could be without No. 1 wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin, which would be a big blow indeed.

Live Feed

Cat Crave

Neither replacement back Darrin Reaves nor Fozzy Whittaker is practicing today, but the Associated Press’s Steve Reed reports that Stewart is practicing for a second straight day after first sporting full pads yesterday. It’s more great news for the Panthers, as they desperately need to get a running game back together, and Stewart can bring that to the table if he’s healthy enough (it’s always a big “if”, though). Barring a setback, he should play this week against Green Bay.

Kelvin Benjamin seems questionable, because while he did return to Sunday’s game after absorbing a big hit from Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict, he actually suffered a concussion on that play. After missing practice yesterday, the Charlotte Observer’s Jonathan Jones reports that the first-round pick is also a non-participant at today’s practice. He’s a huge toss-up this week, so we’ll have to check for all updates closely as he tries to get through the concussion protocol. He suffered a concussion last year in college, so the Panthers will most likely exercise plenty of caution with their long-term “X” receiver.