New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson missed last week's game against the Miami Dolphins and multiple practices due to a mysterious illness.
Some have even attempted to link his sudden absence with trade rumors. The second-year running back has regressed this year after racking up 911 rushing yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie. With the November 10 deadline rapidly approaching, some have wondered if the Patriots are keeping him off the field for a future pending trade.
When appearing on Toucher & Hardy on Thursday, ESPN's Mike Reiss shared his thoughts on Henderson's illness after doing some digging.
“I do think TreVeyon, I’ve looked into that. I think that’s legitimate, that he's not there due to some level of illness. I don't
know what it is," said Reiss. “On TreVeyon, I just wanna say, my view from being around the team is this year has had a lot of adversity for him. Had the ankle injury that he didn’t play in Week 1. And then he had another ankle injury, came back really faster than many thought.
"I think the limited play time, add all that up, I think there’s been a lot of challenges for him that maybe he hasn’t faced in his young life and career. And so, to me, that all might be tied together to what he’s managing.”
Henderson entered the season with an ankle injury that happened in training camp, forcing him to miss the Week 1 game against the Seattle Seahawks. He then suffered another ankle injury in the Week 5 game against the Las Vegas Raiders that initially looked like it could keep him sidelined for multiple weeks.
However, he somehow pushed through the injury and was back on the field the following week.
With Henderson sidelined, the Patriots have turned to Corey Kiner as the No. 2 running back behind Rhamondre Stevenson. They also signed Lan Larison to the main roster last weekend.
When healthy, Henderson has been one of the most explosive players in the Patriots' offense. It would be a huge lift to the team if they could get him back to where he was a year ago.
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Patriots insider's thoughts on TreVeyon Henderson's mystery illness
