New England Patriots - NESN.com
Mike Vrabel can’t allow Rhamondre Stevenson to continue fumbling away games for the Patriots, but he also can’t totally abandon New England’s most well-rounded running back.
So, what will the head coach do after Stevenson fumbled two times, including once on the goal line, in the Patriots’ Week 3 home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers?
“Well, we’ve got to continue to practice the crap out of it,” Vrabel told reporters during a Monday news conference. “We also have to do a better job of protecting said person with the ball, whether that’s the quarterback, whether that’s the running back or the receiver. We’re all responsible for the security of the football. It starts with the person who has it, and then it falls upon the people that are blocking.
“Again, we’ll continue to rep it. If we have to put two hands on the football, when we’re going through there, that’s what we’ll have to do. The only thing I know how to do is to continue to practice it and work it. But then also, maybe it’s not so much the person that you see, it’s the one you don’t see.”
Of course, Stevenson wasn’t the only Patriots player who turned the ball over on Sunday. Running back Antonio Gibson and quarterback Drake Maye both fumbled once, with Maye also throwing an interception.
However, all eyes are on Stevenson, who fumbled six times over his first two seasons and seven times in 2024. Somehow, the Patriots must get him back to being the player who fumbled just once in 12 games in 2023.
New England will host the Carolina Panthers this Sunday. It remains to be seen whether Stevenson will be replaced as the starting running back by either Gibson or rookie TreVeyon Henderson.
