If the New England Patriots didn’t have at least some level of confidence in Rhamondre Stevenson, they probably wouldn’t have traded Sony Michel.
The Patriots on Wednesday sent Michel to the Los Angeles Rams. With all six New England running backs looked good in camp, it became increasingly evident that a hard move of some kind was coming. Michel made the most sense since he was a pending free agent this offseason.
It was perhaps the first real look at the business side of the NFL for the rookie Stevenson, who directly benefits from the move.
“Honestly I try not to even get into the business side of that or anything,” Stevenson said Friday, via WEEI.com. “I’m here. If he was here, I would still be working as hard as I would work after whatever happened and whatnot. So I don’t think that really changes anything for me. I just know that I’ve got to work hard — and I wouldn’t even say harder or anything like that. You gotta work hard and just stay focused on the task at hand.”
There still are a lot of mouths to feed in the Patriots backfield. Damien Harris figures to be the top dog, while James White again looks like he’ll be used as a dual-threat, but specifically pass-catching, back. Brandon Bolden likely will remain as a special teams ace, leaving Stevenson and J.J. Taylor — both of whom have had great camps — to vie for the remaining touches.
After a rocky start in New England, Stevenson is on track, and he’s looking like he could be one of the rare Patriots running backs to dodge the rookie redshirt.
