New England Patriots - NESN.com
There’s no chance the Patriots will staple rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson to the bench when Rhamondre Stevenson returns from a toe injury.
… Right?
Right.
While Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel wasn’t going to make any grand proclamations before knowing Stevenson’s official status against the Cincinnati Bengals, the veteran head coach acknowledged the impact Henderson has had these last three weeks with Stevenson out.
“I think we’ll probably have to have that conversation when it’s certain that we’re gonna have Rhamondre,” Vrabel told reporters at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday when asked about a potential backfield split.
Vrabel confirmed Stevenson will return to practice Wednesday.
Henderson is coming off a career-high 24 touches for 93 yards of offense and three touchdowns against the New York Jets. The explosive ballcarrier averaged 19 touches for 110 yards from scrimmage these last three weeks when headlining the backfield.
“We’ll see where things go,” Vrabel said. “TreVeyon’s helped us, Rhamondre’s helped us, Terrell (Jennings) has helped us.
“We’ll try to have them all help us,” Vrabel continued. “But it’s been good to see TreVeyon continue to run hard and take care of the football and everything else.”
Henderson and Stevenson were not splitting backfield evenly prior to Stevenson’s injury. Before the Week 8 ailment, Henderson’s season-highs were 14 touches (Week 3) and 75 total yards (Week 8). The Ohio State product saw just two touches for five yards in Week 7.
With a feastable matchup against the Bengals, who rank dead last in rushing yards allowed, it’s fair to assume both backs will get their share of work in Week 12.
Just don’t expect Vrabel to share the splits.
