Patriots Begin Week 6 With Concerning Rhamondre Stevenson News
By Jovan Alford
There’s a lot of eyes and attention on the New England Patriots this week after they benched Jacoby Brissett to start rookie quarterback Drake Maye.
Maye and the Patriots’ offense have a tough challenge this weekend as they will be taking on the Houston Texans. Houston’s defense can get after the quarterback but isn’t great at stopping the run (120.2 rushing yards per game/18th in the NFL) this season.
With that in mind, the Patriots would like to feature veteran running back Rhamondre Stevenson often in Sunday’s game to help out Maye. However, the veteran running back wasn’t present at practice on Wednesday, per Taylor Kyles of CLNS.
In addition to Stevenson, Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers, and Jack Westover were not at practice on Wednesday.
Stevenson took a hit to his calf in Week 5 against the Dolphins. After the game, the veteran running back said to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, “I just felt a helmet right into my calf. I just had to make sure I was good. And I was. I felt all right to get back out there … and I think I’m good [moving forward].”
Patriots fans shouldn’t fret about Stevenson not being at practice as it's only Wednesday. If he doesn’t practice Thursday and is listed as questionable at the end of the week, New England might need to prepare to start Antonio Gibson.
Stevenson is coming off a solid performance against the Dolphins, where he had 89 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. This season, the 26-year-old running back has posted 356 yards and three touchdowns on 77 carries.
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