Patriots practice squad elevation encouraging sign for offensive star
The New England Patriots are elevating just one player – linebacker Ochaun Mathis – for Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. That should be an encouraging sign for starting running back Rhamondre Stevenson.
Things keep trending in the right direction for New England Patriots starting running back Rhamondre Stevenson, who is officially listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The latest indication Stevenson is on the right track came with the team’s announcement of Sunday’s practice squad elevation.
On Saturday afternoon, the team announced linebacker Ochaun Mathis will be the only practice squad elevation this week. This is the second elevation of the year for Mathis, who played 11 special teams snaps against the Miami Dolphins in Week 5.
Notably, the Patriots did not elevate a running back. That’s unlike last week, when then Stevenson didn’t play after having not practiced all week due to a foot injury and they elevated Terrell Jennings.
It looked like this week was going to be the same for Stevenson, after he missed practice Wednesday and Thursday. However he made the trip to London with the team and practiced Friday, telling reporters after practice “I’m feeling good right now…I’m feeling like I should be ready to play on Sunday.”
Without an elevation the Patriots will have just three running backs for Sunday’s game in Stevenson, Antonio Gibson, and JaMycal Hasty. Last week with Gibson, Hasty, and Jennings the Patriots struggled to run the ball, with the three backs averaging a collective 2.1 yards per carry.
If Stevenson does end up playing on Sunday, he should provide a boost to that group. He is averaging 4.6 yards per carry so far this season, and still leads the team with 393 all-purpose yards despite missing last week’s game.
The other notable omission from the elevations is a center. The Patriots released backup center Nick Leverett this week, which means Lecitus Smith – who was signed off of the Packers’ practice squad on Tuesday – will likely be active and back up Ben Brown.
On the other side of this matchup, the Jaguars made three roster moves on Sunday. They activated starting cornerback Tyson Campbell from IR, and elevated running back Jake Funk and defensive end Joe Gaziano from the practice squad.
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