Team news: New England Patriots | Page 2

Steelers RB Najee Harris (knee) didn't practice for a second consecutive day and is officially listed as questionable for Thursday night vs. the Patriots, who ruled out RB Rhamondre Stevenson.

Related Players: Jaylen Warren, Godwin Igwebuike, Anthony McFarland

Jaylen Warren would be in for a full bellcow workload if Harris were to miss, though the Patriots' run defense has been stout, even with teams sticking to the ground against them. New England ranks third in rushing yards allowed and first in yards per carry (3.2). Regardless, Warren should maintain plenty of passing work to make him a solid RB2 without Najee Harris.

Patriots ruled out for Thursday night's game vs. the Steelers: RB Rhamondre Stevenson, WR Demario Douglas, WR Kayshon Boutte and OL Riley Reiff.

Related Players: Ezekiel Elliott, JaMycal Hasty, DeVante Parker, Tyquan Thornton, JuJu Smith-Schuster

Phew. An offense that needs all the help/luck they can get is dug even deeper with the absence of some key pieces. Ezekiel Elliott should get a huge percentage of the running back work, but even that is likely to keep him in the low RB2 considerations.

Starting any Patriots wide receivers should be a stay-away at this point, though Hunter Henry can be considered a de facto TE streamer with the team rolling out an extreme lack of consistent options.

Tests showed that Patriots’ RB Rhamondre Stevenson suffered a high ankle sprain.

Related players: Ezekiel Elliott, Ty Montgomery, JaMycal Hasty

The post went on to say Stevenson is expected to miss, in the words of a source, “a few weeks,” according to Schefter. Elliott looks to be in store for a bigger workload but we all know how the Patriots can operate at running back. And, the situation is further complicated by a not-so-good offense overall, so Montgomery and/or Hasty could also get involved at times. Stevenson owners should keep in mind there really isn't a need for the team to rush him back and it remains to be seen if he's a candidate for IR given his timeline.

Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson suffered a sprained ankle during Sunday's loss to the Chargers.

The Patriots have a short week coming up, so it's probably safe to assume Stevenson will not play Thursday against the Steelers, meaning Ezekiel Elliott will be in line to start. An MRI Monday will help determine how much time Stevenson will miss. It's the latest in what's been an extremely miserable season for New England, who fell to 2-10 after their 6-0 loss to the Chargers.

Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle) and Commanders RB Brian Robinson Jr. (hamstring) both left the field Sunday.

Stevenson was injured on a hip-drop tackle against the Chargers, a tackle the NFL may look to ban next offseason and the tackle that took out Ravens TE Mark Andrews. The Patriots were shutout 6-0 by the Chargers to fall to 2-10 on the year. Robinson left the game against the Dolphins in the second quarter after seven rushes for 53 yards, which still led the team in their 45-15 loss to Miami to fall to 4-9.

The New England Patriots are preparing quarterback Bailey Zappe to start Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Related Players: Mac Jones, Malik Cunningham

It wouldn't be unthinkable that we see some snaps for Malik Cunningham this week and, heck, this doesn't even mean Mac Jones won't see the field. The move makes sense for the Patriots, who aren't playing for anything at this point of the season, but it shouldn't impact us fading the team on our fantasy squads.

WR Demario Douglas did enter concussion protocol, per source. He and RB/WR Ty Montgomery were the only players missing at Patriots practice.

Related Players: DeVante Parker, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton

Douglas was trending towards being the only bright spot on the Patriots offense, but it's clear that they're not meant to have nice things in the 2023 season. Douglas has 133 yards and 12 catches on 18 targets over the last two weeks, but he may have a hard time suiting up in Week 13. Parker is the strongest bet to receive a higher target share if he misses, but New England is currently rotating three quarterbacks in at practice, hinting towards more bad game script.

Bailey Zappe and Malik Cunningham were the only QBs to throw passes during a drill with WRs and TEs during the media-access portion of Patriots practice.

Mac Jones stood behind them.

The carousel continues in New England. No reason to consider any of these three quarterbacks in anything but the deepest Superflex leagues. If you're truly desperate, Cunningham could offer some end-of-season upside with his legs. He ran for 34 yards and a touchdown in the opening Preseason contest.

It’s time to turn to Bailey Zappe. Full stop. Give him every starter rep in practice. Build a simple offense around what he can do.

It probably won’t win a lot of games. The body of evidence we have suggests Zappe won’t be a successful NFL quarterback. But you can’t keep turning to Mac Jones. He’s broken.

Related players: Will Grier, Malik Cunningham

This is just one opinion and has nothing to do with the Patriots ultimate decision heading into Week 13. But it makes some sense. The story said with Jones on the field, it feels like the entire team is just waiting for him to make a crippling mistake. The story added the team seems to have no interest in Cunningham playing quarterback (considering the coaches have kept him from his natural WR position as much as possible). The team doesn't seem likely to turn to a QB that's still on the waiver wire, so the Pats appear ready to close out the season with one or more of the four options on their roster.

Justin Jefferson said his hamstring recovery is going well and that he has reached top speeds during practice. He wasn’t ready to say if he thinks he can play Monday night tho. “If I’m feeling good, I will play,” he said. More to come.

Related Players: Jordan Addison, K.J. Osborn, T.J. Hockenson

Addison and Hockenson should continue to be started in all lineups. As for Jefferson managers, hopefully we can survive long enough to get him back in our fantasy playoff lineups.