Rhamondre Stevenson reportedly must be good to play in Week 1 after lacking Friday’s apply

Patriots

Stevenson is reportedly coping with a abdomen bug that pressured him to overlook apply on Friday.

Rhamondre Stevenson unexpectedly missed Friday’s apply. AP Photograph/Joshua Bessex

After a short scare on Friday, the Patriots can have certainly one of their high gamers obtainable for Sunday’s season-opening matchup towards the Eagles.

Rhamondre Stevenson had a abdomen bug that pressured him to overlook Friday’s apply, however he must be good to go for Week 1, MassLive’s Karen Guregian reported. The operating again’s absence from Friday’s apply was a shock as he wasn’t on the harm report within the prior two days, indicating that he was a full participant.

Within the occasion that Stevenson’s abdomen bug will get worse and causes him to overlook Sunday’s sport, the Patriots would probably flip to Ezekiel Elliott to shoulder the burden out of the backfield. In truth, the August signee is the one different operating again on the Patriots’ 53-man roster.

The Patriots may also name up a operating again from the apply squad if they should forward of Sunday’s sport. They’ve a pair of operating backs on their apply squad, inserting Kevin Harris and Ty Montgomery on there after each gamers have been waived on cutdown day in August.

New England might name up both Harris or Montgomery no matter Stevenson’s standing for the sport towards Philadelphia. The staff’s usually carried three operating backs on their gameday roster prior to now.

Even after the signing of Elliott, many have anticipated Stevenson to comply with his breakout marketing campaign in 2022 with an even bigger 2023 season. Stevenson rushed for 1,040 yards and 5 touchdowns, including a team-high 69 receptions to go together with 421 receiving yards and a receiving landing.

On high of all of that, Stevenson performed in 66 p.c of the Patriots’ offensive snaps final season, which is essentially the most for a Patriots operating again in a single season since a minimum of 2011, in keeping with Professional Soccer Reference.

A part of the explanation why Stevenson performed such a excessive variety of snaps was because of the harm points that plagued Damien Harris, who performed in a minimum of a part of 11 video games final season earlier than departing to Buffalo in March. Whereas the Patriots signed Elliott, they’ve comparable unknowns behind their two lead backs as they did final season.