New England Patriots
“The discipline is we need our best players to play in a game and do their job and take care of football.”
When the Patriots’ offense first takes the field against the Panthers on Sunday, don’t be surprised if you see Rhamondre Stevenson among that group.
Stevenson won’t be punished in playing time after losing two fumbles in the Patriots’ loss to the Steelers in Week 3, Mike Vrabel told reporters on Friday.
“If you’re asking me if Rhamondre is on some sort of discipline, no,” the Patriots head coach said. “The discipline is we need our best players to play in a game and do their job and take care of football. And we all have to do that. Drake [Maye] had an interception and a fumble [against the Steelers]. We’re not going to play Josh [Dobbs] right now.”
While Stevenson has arguably been one of the Patriots’ top players over the last few years, he’s also had a track record of fumbling the ball. His seven fumbles last season led the NFL, and he now has 16 in his four-plus seasons in the league.
In fact, Stevenson’s fumbling woes last year should’ve cost him his starting spot for a game. Ahead of the Patriots’ Week 17 loss to the Chargers, then-head coach Jerod Mayo said that Stevenson wouldn’t start that game. However, Stevenson wound up starting for the Patriots due to a miscommunication on the coaching staff.
Both of Stevenson’s fumbles in Sunday’s game were costly in the 21-14 loss. His fumble on the game’s opening possession gave the Steelers a short field, allowing Pittsburgh to score a touchdown on its first drive. In the third quarter, Stevenson fumbled just short of the goal line as the Patriots were looking to tie the game.
Even though the third-quarter fumble was Stevenson’s final snap of the game, Vrabel stood by his running back in the immediate aftermath. Vrabel continued to stand by Stevenson on Friday, but also made it clear that he has to hold onto the ball.
“We have to fix those things, the people around them have to be better, and I’m confident that we will,” Vrabel said. “I’m not going to talk about the alternative. I’ll go down that road later, but those are things that we have to get fixed, but we also have to do good things with the football, make people miss, make yards and catch it and block when they blitz.
“So, we’re confident that those guys can do that.”
As Vrabel gave him a longer leash, Stevenson told reporters that he feels he had a “great week of practice.” He recognized that he has to prove his coach right, though.
“The main thing is still the main thing. I still have to take care of the ball,” Stevenson said, via MassLive’s Karen Guregian. “I’m glad (Vrabel) still trusts me in a way. My teammates trust me in a way. But it’s up to me to have 100 percent ball security from here on out.”
Despite the fumbles, Stevenson has arguably been the Patriots’ top skill position player on the young season. His 87 rushing yards are tied for the team high, while he’s also third on the team in receiving yards (138).
But that also goes to show some of the struggles the Patriots have had at wide receiver and running back so far this season. Antonio Gibson has rushed for 58 yards on an efficient 4.5 yards per carry this season, but he also fumbled in the Week 3 loss to the Steelers. Rookie TreVeyon Henderson has recorded 65 rushing yards on just 3.4 yards per carry so far, although he has 73 receiving yards.
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