FOXBORO, Mass. — For most running backs, adding a 1,000-yard rusher to their roster would make them uncomfortable. But not Stevan Ridley.
The Patriots traded for running back LeGarrette Blount on Day 3 of this year’s NFL draft, adding the former Buccaneers lead tailback to an already stocked group of running backs, and Ridley admitted on Thursday that he was excited about it.
Ridley was the Patriots’ feature back in 2012 and plans to be again next season, but he knows the Patriots can use all the depth they can get.
“You’re looking at a guy who is 260 pounds, a powerful runner,” Ridley said of Blount. “We just had lunch, just talked a little bit, and now we’re excited about it.”
Even while he’s excited, Ridley isn’t willing to give the new guy any credit just yet. Blount will have to earn that first.
“You’re looking at a guy who is coming in here to a stable of backs,” Ridley said of the running backs already on the Patriots’ roster. “The job is not going to be given to anybody, you got to work to get it. … With us four in there, I think all four of us can contribute.”
With plenty of questions remaining in their receiving corps, the Patriots will need some stable production from their running backs this season. So, they better hope Ridley’s intuition is right when it comes to Blount.
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