Patriots place RB Rhamondre Stevenson on season-ending injured reserve

The New England Patriots are putting running back Rhamondre Stevenson on injured reserve, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Stevenson suffered an ankle injury earlier this month and hasn’t played since.

Stevenson went down with a high ankle sprain in the Patriots’ 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 3, and New England opted to shut him down for the time being. With Week 16 quickly approaching, he will now finish out the year on IR.

Stevenson was a critical piece of the Patriots’ struggling offense this season. Although he only played in 12 games, he still leads the team with 619 rushing yards — 70 more than Ezekiel Elliott — while also scoring a team-high four touchdowns on the ground.

The 2022 season was a breakout campaign for Stevenson as he ran for 1,040 yards and five touchdowns. This year was this third in the NFL after the Patriots selected him out of Oklahoma in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

It’s been a long season for Rhamondre Stevenson and the Patriots

New England has struggled mightily on multiple fronts this year, but got a last-second victory on Christmas Eve to improve to 4-11 on the season. It’s been a rough go for the offense as Mac Jones found himself on the sidelines as Bailey Zappe effectively took over as the starting quarterback. Elliott has stepped up in Stevenson’s absence, but New England still ranks last in the NFL with 14.1 points per game.

Nonetheless, Bill Belichick raved about the team’s resiliency after defeating the Denver Broncos on Sunday thanks to a late 56-yard field goal from Chad Ryland to send the Patriots to a 26-23 victory — their fourth of the season.

“That was a wild game. I’m really proud of our guys, our players, coaches,” Belichick said, via Pro Football Talk. “Got off to a rough start, but those guys really battled back, hung in there. … Really happy for the hard work that our players and coaches put in, and how resilient they were.”

Of course, that win had a big impact on the Patriots’ draft position. They enter Week 16 with just a 0.3% chance of the No. 1 overall selection, according to ESPN, but they also have a 94.5% chance of a top-five pick. Next up for New England is a matchup against the Buffalo Bills on New Year’s Eve before finishing out the 2023 season against the New York Jets on Jan. 7, 2024.