Rhamondre Stevenson makes New England Patriots training camp debut
Updated Jul 30, 2021; Posted Jul 30, 2021
New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson steps on the field at the start of an NFL football minicamp practice, Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Foxborough, Mass.
By Chris Mason | cmason@masslive.com
FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots finally have a full backfield this morning.
Fourth-round pick Rhamondre Stevenson is present and making his training camp debut. The rookie out of Oklahoma began camp on the non-football injury list, but looks ready to roll.
He’ll join Damien Harris, James White, Sony Michel, J.J. Taylor, Brandon Bolden, and Tyler Gaffney on a crowded depth chart. After camp on Thursday, Harris was optimistic that running back can be one of the best positions on the Patriots roster this season.
“That room is unbelievable,” Harris said. “The camaraderie, the brotherhood, I can’t even put into words how great it is playing alongside those guys. Every single day we come out here and we support each other. We push each other. We compete. We do everything we can to make each other better.
“It’s such an unselfish group. There’s no egos,” Harris added. “We’re all talented guys and we know that if we all come together, we can be one of the strongest positions groups and help this team be successful on offense.”
Patriots: Rhamondre Stevenson’s epic truck stick has fans drooling at training camp
by Jerry TrottaThe New England Patriots’ backfield has been a major talking point at training camp, and understandably so given that we don’t even know who the starter’s going to be.
Of course, Damien Harris is the prohibitive favorite to win the job after his breakout year last season. Bill Belichick even hinted at that during a recent media session.
However, how will the running back pecking order fill out behind Harris? Could Sony Michel potentially end up earning a split-share of the workload?
What about Rhamondre Stevenson possibly ascending up the pecking order after he was injured to start training camp?
We wouldn’t rule out any scenario. Having said that, though, Stevenson is clearly motivated to make the most of his opportunities given that he’s behind the eight ball.
Why do we say that? Because the Oklahoma product unleashed a truck stick for the ages at Tuesday’s practice, barreling over Myles Bryant on a thunderous run.
Patriots fans are loving Rhamondre Stevenson’s monster truck stick.
Now THAT’s how you welcome the return of padded practices. My goodness.Let this serve as a warning for NFL defenses. If you meet Stevenson in the open field, brace for impact, because the former Sooner is going to want to run defenders over. Unfortunately for Bryant, he learned the hard way to never stand up a physical running back.
It Stevenson rips off more runs like this, he’ll give Belichick and Josh McDaniels with no other choice but to feature him early and often as a rookie. Additionally, if the 23-year-old keeps performing at camp, all of a sudden Michel’s presence becomes very redundant … but let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.
Anyway, doesn’t it feel like Stevenson and the Patriots are the perfect fit? When he was drafted, he immediately drew comparisons to former bruising back LeGarrett Blount, whose 6-foot, 247-pound frame helped unleash the Patriots’ dominant rushing attack. Now you know why.
Long viewed as a player who could become a goal-line and short-yardage specialist for the Patriots in Year 1, Stevenson could force himself into seeing work on early downs.
Patriots RBs coach doesn’t sound pleased with Rhamondre Stevenson
by Thomas Carannante3 days ago Follow @TOMMYS_TAKESNew England Patriots fourth-round pick Rhamondre Stevenson opened training camp on the non-football injury list. We still don’t know why, but he’s since returned from that designation, which is really all that matters.
Stevenson was the second Oklahoma Sooner the Pats selected in the draft that missed a portion of the 2020 season.
Both Stevenson and teammate Ronnie Perkins played in just six games at OU last year after being suspended for failing routine drug tests.
Not a great look … but if anyone’s going to turn players around from skeptical character issues, it’s Bill Belichick and the Patriots.
And honestly, we thought Stevenson’s start to camp was somewhat promising!
That is, until running backs coach Ivan Fears dropped a truth bomb on everyone this week about the rookie.
Patriots RBs coach Ivan Fears doesn’t sound pleased with Rhamondre Stevenson.
So … maybe he’s not doing well? Perhaps there’s some behind-the-scenes stuff we’re not aware of?
Because his play on the field has prompted a few beat writers to applaud his efforts. He laid a ferocious truck stick on cornerback Myles Bryant a few days ago. Last week, he supposedly impressed with his pass-catching abilities and explosiveness after the catch.
Then again, we’re certainly not going to doubt Fears, who’s been the team’s RBs coach since 2002 and has oversaw some of the league’s most potent rushing attacks led by mostly pedestrian names, with the exception of Corey Dillon.
Other than the former Pro Bowler, the Patriots have been carried by guys like Sony Michel, LeGarrette Blount, Stevan Ridley, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Jonas Gray, Dion Lewis, Sammy Morris and Laurence Maroney, who successfully handled RB1 duties on some of the best offenses in the NFL.
So, while we’ll take Fears’ word for it, we’d still like to know why Stevenson seemingly has this steep of an uphill battle. We know his limited experience and production in college is a bit of a red flag (just 1,180 yards and 13 touchdowns in 19 games), but his size (6-foot, 230 pounds) and speed combination are prototypical for what the Patriots look for in a running back.
Does this assessment now affect the team’s running back rotation for 2021? With just a little over a month until Week 1, Stevenson’s progress will be worth heavily monitoring.
It sure was. You should see the video!
In all seriousness, this is exactly what we wanted to see from Stevenson after he was placed on the active/non-football injury list to start camp.
Though longtime RBs coach Ivan Fears admitted the fourth-rounder has a lot to learn, fans are starting to see glimpses of the player Stevenson can be once he puts everything together.
