Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots have gotten solid contributions out of their running back group this season, but also some uneven availability. Rhamondre Stevenson missed three games earlier this season with a toe injury, while Antonio Gibson’s year ended with a torn ACL in Week 5.
TreVeyon Henderson has been a comparative model of consistency, but his outlook for the upcoming game against the New York Jets is unclear. The second-round rookie was placed into concussion protocol last Sunday versus the Baltimore Ravens, and was a limited participant in the lone practice of the week so far.
Should Henderson be out or limited, the Patriots will likely up Stevenson’s workload. They also might give third-string RB D’Ernest Johnson some more chances.
According to his head coach, he will be ready once opportunity comes calling.
“He is prepared,” said Mike Vrabel earlier this week. “He’s done nothing but come in, be a professional, learn and be ready to go, and I know that when his opportunity comes, he’ll take advantage of it.”
An undrafted rookie in 2019, Johnson started his career with the Cleveland Browns and found some initial success as a reserve running back and special teams option. After leaving Cleveland, he spent two years in Jacksonville but was not retained by the team this offseason.
Instead, he had to wait until August before the Ravens brought him aboard. Johnson started his 2025 campaign on the Baltimore practice squad, and later had a brief stint in Arizona as well. In total, he had appeared in 98 regular season and playoff games before New England picked him up in late October via its practice squad.
After he ran out of his three standard practice squad elevations with the Patriots, the 29-year-old was signed to the active roster earlier this month. All in all, he has been on the field for 39 combined snaps as a depth running back and two-unit kicking game contributor.
His starts reflect his limited usage: in his five games so far, Johnson has carried the ball four times for 7 yards. He did have one 10-yard run wiped out by penalty, though, something Vrabel brought up when speaking about him earlier this week.
“It was unfortunate,” the Patriots’ coach said about a play that occurred in the first game against the Jets. “He busted his tail to get in there on that Thursday night game, we hand it to him, a huge run, questionable holding call, and he had some other plays in that first game. I actually joked with him [Tuesday]. I said, ‘Hopefully, if you get in there, we rip a couple runs off there, you make a couple plays that don’t get called back.’ And he was laughing.”
Whether or not Johnson will get another crack at the Jets defense will be seen. Should push come to shove, however, the Patriots feel comfortable handing him the ball.
