Stewart still hobbled

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- In many respects, Friday was just like every other day Jonathan Stewart has ever spent at Wofford.

He didn't do anything.

"Stew's got it down to a science," tight end Jeff King joked. "He's outsmarting us all."

For some players, having so much time off would be a welcome relief, but for the Carolina Panthers' third-year running back, it was just another frustrating day. Stewart has endured an endless cycle of never practicing because of foot and ankle issues.

He said he hopes to be back on the field soon and indicated that it could be during training camp. He has been bothered since being drafted by big toe and Achilles tendon problems (the first led directly to the second) and looks exasperated when asked to describe the process.

"There's a lot of jokes being made here or there about that whole situation," Stewart said, shaking his head. "But me being an athlete and me being a competitor, practice is something that's very important to excel. You've got guys that are practicing around you and getting better and you're not being able to get the opportunity.

"Once I get healthy, it's going to be one of the best days of my life, to be able to get back to normal."

It's hard to determine what normal is for Stewart, who said he hasn't felt 100 percent since Nov. 15, 2007.

That was the day he suffered the first injury to his right big toe, which led to the surgery that cost him the entire offseason and most of his rookie training camp.

Compensating from that soreness during his recovery led to the soreness in his left Achilles, which kept him off the field last spring and most of camp.

The next practice snap he takes in minicamp or organized team activities will be his first, and his in-season schedule is the envy of the lazy, since he generally works only on Thursday.

"In my career, I've known guys who, man, they'd be so excited if they could have some kind of excuse to get out (of practice)," center Ryan Kalil said. "We talk all the time, and it's really upsetting and troubling to him.

"I know he cares a lot about what his teammates think of him. I try to reassure him all the time, that guys know that it's just one of those things that you try to fight through. I tell him we'd rather have him on Sunday than through the week."

That doesn't make him exempt from the jokes. "Yeah, maybe if we start practicing he won't be as good," King cracked.

The normally stone-faced Stewart is able to chuckle at some of the jokes. "Depending on when I'm hearing it, if I'm thinking good, it's funny. If I'm not thinking good it's kind of annoying."

Of course, there's a certain "not broke, don't fix" quality to Stewart, because for all the time he's missed he's played every game here.

He actually passed teammate DeAngelo Williams for the team rushing lead - 1,133 yards to 1,117, making them the first NFL teammates to top 1,100 yards - late last season when Williams was injured.

There has been a legitimate debate as to which of the two is the better back.

In fact, the possibility of what they might be able to do if both were healthy is a tantalizing thought.

"Most definitely," Stewart said. "I always think about that."

"Extremely excited," Williams said when asked about getting his partner back. "I can't wait until he gets out there it takes reps off of us, and we can get back to midseason form like we were last year."

Of course, last year was spent in constant dread, as the practice management was to make sure his sore Achilles didn't snap.

He had surgery on Jan. 20 to removed bone spurs that were pressing into his Achilles near the insertion at his heel, along with clean-up work on some calcium deposits and nearby bursa sacs.

"At the beginning, no," Stewart replied when asked if he expected to make it through 2009.

He said he was in "quite a bit" of pain, and now is able to call it a "good situation," because he's close to the point of being well again.

"It was definitely a character builder," Stewart said. "A lot of times people regret these type of things, but for me I look at it as something I've grown through, and I'm about to stay I've gotten through it."