Rhamondre Stevenson won't be benched in Week 4, per Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel
Rhamondre Stevenson might not start for the New England Patriots in Week 4. But the plan is for the veteran running back to get plenty of touches when the Patriots host the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
That is, as long as he gets a handle on his fumbling issues. Stevenson's job security has been in question this week after he had two costly fumbles in New England's Week 3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Going back to last season, the five-year veteran has nine fumbles, and his seven in 2024 led the NFL.
There have been cries for Antonio Gibson or rookie TreVeyon Henderson to take over as the team's lead back, and either may be the first running back to get a carry for New England on Sunday.
But head coach Mike Vrabel made it clear on Friday that Stevenson will be out there against the Panthers, and the Patriots need him to make plays with the ball in his hands.
"We have different packages. I don't know what the first package is, but if you're asking me if Rhamondre is on some sort of discipline, no," replied Vrabel. "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."
The Patriots turned the ball over five times last Sunday. Running back Antonio Gibson also gave away a fumble, while quarterback Drake Maye threw an interception before halftime and had a second-half fumble as well.
"Drake had an interception and a fumble, we're not going to play Josh [Dobbs] right now," said Vrabel. "We have to fix those things, the people around them have to be better, and I'm confident that we will."
While Stevenson may not start the game for the Patriots, he'll still have a big role on offense against a Carolina defense that has surrendered 137.7 rushing yards per game to start the season.
Rhamondre Stevenson grateful for Patriots' support
Vrabel has been extremely supportive of Stevenson since last week's loss in hopes of boosting the back's confidence. The head coach has said throughout the week that ball security involves everyone on the team and isn't just on the ball carrier.
Stevenson is grateful for such support, but said Friday it's really up to him to hold onto the ball. He said he felt bad that some of his teammates got chewed out over his fumbles in Week 3.
"That's great that we all have to protect the guy with the ball. But we're running backs and we get the ball handed to us a lot of the time. It's up to us at the end of the day," said Stevenson. "I don't care if it's 10 guys unblocked. If the ball is in our hands, we have to protect it."
The Patriots had several different drills in practice this week to help their running backs with ball security, and Stevenson said he feels good about the work he and New England's other backs put in leading up to Sunday. But it won't matter if the football comes loose again on Sunday.
"We have to protect the ball, 100% of the time, period," said Stevenson.
For now, it sounds like Stevenson will remain as New England's lead running back. But if he puts the ball on the ground again Sunday, don't be surprised if Vrabel give him a quick hook and turns to Gibson and Henderson the rest of the way.