Given a chance to be a workhorse back for the first time in his career, Jonathan Stewart seemed to get stronger as the season went along last year.

The Panthers' running back, who hadn't played 16 games since 2011, went into Carolina's Week 14 matchup with Atlanta as the NFL's third-leading rusher with 914 yards. His five touchdowns were the most he'd scored since 2009, and his 232 carries were already a career high.

But because of Stewart's history, worries that all the work would eventually lead to an injury never went away.

After 20 carries in eight straight games, Stewart took 10 more against the Falcons before he came out shortly before halftime. He had hurt his foot, a sprain that forced him to watch the Panthers' final three regular-season games.

Now Stewart, who gained 189 yards in the playoffs before he reinjured his foot in the Super Bowl, is back to full health as he prepares for another workhorse-like season. That "like" is an important distinction.

"With what’s looking like the emergence of Cameron Artis-Payne and Brandon Wegher," coach Ron Rivera said, "I think we’re going to have a young guy that’s going to be able to go out and carry the ball maybe five or six times and take some of that pressure off (Stewart)."

Five or six carries — plus what Fozzy Whittaker can add — may not seem like much. But a small decrease in carries would increase Stewart's chances to remain healthy and somewhat rested.

"If that happens, I’ll definitely have a little more rest," Stewart said on Wednesday in his typical quiet manner. "That’s obvious."

It's also obvious the Panthers don't want their top back to take many hits before kickoff at Denver in Week 1. Stewart didn't do much during team drills during offseason workouts, and that pace has carried over to Spartanburg.

As far as preseason games go — Stewart may not even match last summer's line of nine carries for 14 yards in two games.

"To break a sweat and be smarter with it — a lot like we did last year," Rivera said when asked what he hoped to get out of Stewart before the season. "I'm going to go back and look at the play charts and I'm going to see exactly what we did with him and try to stay along those lines.

"There’s no reason to expose him."

None at all, even if the 29-year-old is feeling just fine.

"This is my ninth year," Stewart said, "and I feel like it’s my fifth year."