The New England Patriots returned to work on Wednesday after a long weekend off, and as they took the practice fields for the first time they did so with running back Rhamondre Stevenson.
Despite returning
to practice in a limited fashion last week, Stevenson missed his third straight game with a toe injury he suffered in a Week 8 matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
As for if he’ll make his return to the field this weekend against the Bengals, Stevenson, who shared he was feeling good before logging a limited session, shared his status will come down to how his toe responds to practice.
“I just got to go out there and see how I feel. Run around a little bit,” Stevenson said at his locker Wednesday.
With the veteran on the sideline the past three weeks, New England turned the backfield over to rookie TreVeyon Henderson, who has played 82% of the team’s offensive snaps in that timeframe.
Henderson responded by scoring five touchdowns over his last two games, including a pair of 50-plus yard runs in a win against Tampa Bay.
“They’re rolling,” Stevenson said. “Specifically my running back room, [TreVeyon] doing great, so proud of him. All the running backs — Terrell [Jennings], everyone. Got three more wins with me being down, so I’m excited to get back.”
As New England’s ground game has found success without Stevenson, the veteran’s presence will be a welcomed return. Henderson struggled to handle a workhorse-style workload during his time at college, while Stevenson will provide a boost to the Patriots’ ground game between the tackles and a reliable pass protector.
When Stevenson, who has remained involved in meetings during his time out, is healthy enough to return, New England’s staff most decide the best way to split the snaps in the backfield.
“I think we’ll probably have to have that conversation when it’s certain that we’re going to have Rhamondre. He’s going to work through practice today, and we’ll see where things go,” Mike Vrabel said. “TreVeyon’s helped us, Rhamondre’s helped us, Terrell [Jennings]’s helped us. Disappointed that D’Ernest [Johnson] couldn’t have a couple more carries. We gained some good yards on whatever they thought was a holding penalty and go from there.
“So, we’ll try to have them all help us, but it’s been good to see TreVeyon continue to run hard, take care of the football and everything else.”
