Rhamondre Stevenson addressed limited practices, load management speculation
"Honestly, you've got to ask Bill Belichick. I don't know why."
Rhamondre Stevenson clutched the white Gatorade-themed towel that was draped over his neck and pulled his hands apart from one another as he answered questions Wednesday about the Patriots’ practice plan for him.
Stevenson has been a limited participant through most of the training camp so far.
He has not seen many touches in scrimmages and has spent a fair amount of time conditioning while other backs are doing team drills. And he does not appear to be injured.
Are the Patriots resting Stevenson now as a precaution, given that he’ll probably have a heavy workload going forward?
“Just like anybody else over 17-18 games I’m going to be dinged up at the end of the season, so I don’t think that was really a big part of it,” Stevenson said. “They’re trying to decrease my workload. Honestly, you’ve got to ask Bill Belichick. I don’t know why.”
Stevenson had 210 rushing attempts last year, which is in the top half of the league among starting running backs. It was his first time topping 200 rushing attempts in a year, and his first time playing all 17 regular-season games.
And that was while the Patriots had him splitting carries with Damien Harris, who later signed with Buffalo in the offseason.
For now, the Patriots are relying on second-year backs Pierre Strong and Kevin Harris to back up Stevenson. But, their actions over the last few weeks have shown that they’re in the market to add a veteran running back after bringing in Leonard Fournette and Ezekiel Elliott for visits.
Stevenson said he’s been a fan of Elliott’s game since he was in college and still feels that way.
“I’m confident in our room right now,” Stevenson said. “But if somebody else comes in, we’re just going to see if he can work as hard as us and just keep the train moving.”
Stevenson said he’s “itching” to get more reps pads on, but is going along with the coaching staff’s plan for him.
“All these guys here, all the coaches, all the staff, have been in the league way longer than I have,” Stevenson said. “So whatever they say, I just take it, do what they say, and take it and run with it.”
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