Artis-Payne will certainly be promoted to a more significant role in the Panthers backfield if teammate Jonathan Stewart's hamstring injury limits him going forward.
Artis-Payne was a healthy scratch for Carolina's first two games of this season, but that should change given Stewart's uncertain availability going forward. The second-year tailback Artis-Payne received a vote of confidence from coach Ron Rivera following Sunday's game, which echoed comments made during the offseason. Despite such praise, Artis-Payne watched Fozzy Whittaker and Mike Tolbert round out the Panthers' backfield to start the season, and the former totaled 131 all-purpose yards in Stewart's absence Sunday. While that figures to make Whittaker Carolina's top tailback if Stewart's injury keeps him out, Artis-Payne could serve behind him at the position, marking an obvious improvement on his inactive status thus far.