The Patriots will be as close to full strength on offense as they have been all season on Monday night, as Shane Vereen will make his much-anticipated return when the Patriots take the field in Carolina.
Vereen will be active for Monday night’s game against the Panthers, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Patriots are expected to ease the versatile running back into the offense, though, meaning he may have a limited role in his first game back. This was the first game Vereen was eligible to be activated off of short-term injured reserve.
Vereen fractured a bone in his wrist during the Patriots’ Week 1 win against the Bills, forcing him to undergo surgery and miss the last eight games. He was a major factor in that Week 1 win, too, rushing for 101 yards and catching seven passes for 58 yards en route to helping secure the 23-21 victory.
The Patriots have used a rotation of Stevan Ridley, LeGarrette Blount and Brandon Bolden out of the backfield in recent weeks, but Vereen is expected to return to his role as the team’s primary third-down back, similar to the role Danny Woodhead and Kevin Faulk used to fill.
With Vereen back on the field, along with a healthy Rob Gronkowski and Danny Amendola, the Patriots’ offense should finally look the way Bill Belichick intended before the season. The Panthers, who boast arguably the top defense in football, should give Tom Brady and the Patriots all they could expect and more on Monday, so Vereen’s return couldn’t come at a better time.
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