FOXBORO, Mass. — Shane Vereen, overcome with emotion, sent a message to his close friend after scoring on the New England Patriots’ first offensive drive.
Vereen performed Stevan Ridley’s famous “kick down the door” celebration after catching a 49-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tom Brady on Thursday night in the Patriots’ 27-25 win over the New York Jets. Ridley was placed on injured reserve four hours before the game after suffering a torn ACL and MCL on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.
Vereen and Ridley are incredibly close — literally (they live next door to one another) — after both being drafted in consecutive rounds four years ago and growing up in the Patriots’ system.
“Huge emotion, yeah,” Vereen said. “I know he wants to be out here more than anybody else, and while he’s at home watching, I just wanted to let him know that we’re here for him, that we’re playing for him and we’re gonna play hard for him.”
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Vereen had his best game of the season while taking the majority of the Patriots’ snaps at running back and playing for his friend. He caught five passes for 71 yards with two touchdowns and carried the ball 11 times for 43 yards.
“When a brother goes down, it takes a toll on everybody, especially the running back corps (because) we’re so tight, so I just tried to play for him,” Vereen said. “I think as a whole offense, we needed to step up. You can’t replace Stevan. He’s a great player, a great runner, a great running back. I learned a lot from him and so everyone needs to step up and do their part.”
It will be difficult to replace Ridley, and despite the win and strong showing from Vereen, there was something missing in the Patriots’ offense as they failed to truly establish a running game.
“For (Vereen) to lose someone that’s pretty close to him — Shane did and Jonas (Gray) did and Brandon Bolden did — and really a guy that’s a real leader for that group, too,” Brady said about Ridley’s loss. “Everybody has to take on some different roles with Stevan out. It’s a tough injury. Stevan will be back better than ever. If there’s one thing I know about him, it’s his mental toughness, his work ethic, how much he loves football. I know he’s going to come back stronger than ever.”
Kicking down the door wasn’t Vereen’s only notable celebration Thursday. He also threw the ball into the Gillette Stadium crowd after his second score, and likely will receiver a hefty fine for his actions.
“I was just feeling it, maybe a little too much,” Vereen said, laughing. “Might get fined on that one. Won’t do it again, I know that much.”
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Photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
