These Patriots Could Debut In Wake Of Rhamondre Stevenson Injury

FOXBORO, Mass. — Expect to see at least one new face in the Patriots’ backfield Thursday night in Pittsburgh.

Lead back Rhamondre Stevenson will miss New England’s primetime matchup with the Steelers — and possibly the rest of the season — after suffering a high ankle sprain in Sunday’s 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Three-time Pro Bowler Ezekiel Elliott should take over the bulk of Stevenson’s workload after serving as the No. 2 for the first 13 weeks of the season. The former Dallas Cowboys standout tallied 17 carries for 52 yards and four catches for 40 yards against the Chargers and is no stranger to bell-cow duties.

But the Patriots likely will need to fill out their depth chart with one of their untested reserves.

We could see the debut of JaMycal Hasty, who was claimed off waivers last month but sat out his first two Patriots games as a healthy scratch.

The 5-foot-8, 205-pound Hasty is a career backup, posting a career-high 320 yards from scrimmage (194 rushing; 126 receiving) for Jacksonville in 2022. He fell out of the Jaguars’ rotation this season and didn’t record a carry or catch in three appearances before his release.

One of the best games of Hasty’s four-year NFL career came against the Patriots in 2020, when he had nine carries for 57 yards and one catch for 16 yards for an injury-depleted 49ers team. San Francisco won that game 33-6.

The Patriots also have 2022 sixth-round draft pick Kevin Harris on their practice squad. The trunk-legged South Carolina product was an emergency option last season, rushing 18 times for 52 yards and one touchdown in games Stevenson and/or Damien Harris missed due to injury. Harris was let go on cutdown day this past summer and has been on the P-squad ever since.

New England’s final backfield option is Ty Montgomery, who, unlike Hasty and Harris, has seen game action for the Patriots this season. But he’s a running back/receiver hybrid and hasn’t had much of a role outside of special teams. Twelve games in, Montgomery has played just 36 offensive snaps, carried three times for 9 yards and caught four passes for 23 yards, with three of his seven touches coming in Week 1.

The Patriots’ offense ranks dead last in the NFL in scoring this season but actually ran the ball well over the last month-plus. Since Week 7, only the Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions have a higher expected point added per play average on run plays.

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Maintaining that success will be difficult without Stevenson, who strung together some of his best games of the season before his injury. The third-year back is arguably the Patriots’ best offensive player and was playing like it of late. It’ll be on this group, led by Elliott, to pick up the slack.

“It’s tough,” tight end and team co-captain Hunter Henry said Tuesday. “Rhamondre obviously is a great back, a great guy to have in the locker room. (His injury) was tough to see, especially early in the game. I wish him well, wish him the best with whatever’s next with that.

“But this league is always about that next man up. It’s another opportunity. Obviously, Zeke’s done a lot in this league. He has a pedigree, and he’s shown a lot, even this year. But it’s another opportunity for the other guys — JaMycal, maybe Kevin Harris — other guys to kind of step up and get more limelight, more opportunity.”

The Steelers have a middle-of-the-road run defense, ranking 22nd in yards allowed per game, 21st in yards allowed per carry and 14th in EPA/play.

Kickoff Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium is set for 8:25 p.m. ET.