The status of one of the New England Patriots’ most dynamic offensive players remains unclear just two days ahead of their season-opening game against the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday night.
Second-year running back TreVeyon Henderson suffered an ankle injury on Aug. 24 and hasn’t practiced since.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was asked before Monday’s practice about Henderson’s availability for this week’s showdown in Seattle.
“We’ll see how he feels today,” Vrabel said. “We’ll see if he can do anything. He’s been working extremely hard to come back, and we’ll see where that goes here today. We do have a few more days before (the game), but we’ll just see what he can do today.”
Henderson had a strong rookie season in 2025 after getting selected by the Patriots in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft out of Ohio State.
He ranked second among rookies with 911 rushing yards and his nine rushing touchdowns led all first-year running backs. His four touchdown runs of 50-plus yards tied Saquon Barkley for the most by a rookie since 2000. He also played in all 17 regular season games and each of the team’s four postseason matchups.
Henderson is a true playmaker on offense. His big-play ability, both running the ball and catching passes, is special. He has a level of speed and quickness that few other players on New England’s roster bring to the field.
If he’s unable to play against the Seahawks, or if he does play but not the usual amount of snaps, the Patriots could lean heavily on starting running back Rhamondre Stevenson.
Stevenson had a very strong finish to the 2025 regular season — six total touchdowns in the last three games — and an impressive playoff run. He also enjoyed a fantastic training camp this summer.
The Patriots might have leaned heavily on Stevenson against the Seahawks regardless of Henderson’s status. Stevenson is a better pass blocker than Henderson and picks up blitzes at a higher level, which is pretty valuable against a physical, aggressive Seahawks defense that dominated the Patriots’ offensive line in Super Bowl 60.
If the Patriots are going to give starting quarterback Drake Maye a clean pocket and prevent him from getting sacked as often as he did in the Super Bowl (six times), then Stevenson will need to play most of the offensive snaps at running back.
If Henderson is out Wednesday, the Patriots will have Stevenson and Corey Kiner atop the running back depth chart. They also have Lan Larison and Hassan Haskins on the practice squad and could elevate one of those players for additional depth.
Kiner joined the Patriots on Aug. 28 in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals. It’s hard to envision Kiner playing a meaningful role in the opener after being with the team for a little more than a week. Kiner also has just 30 snaps of pro experience (all with the Arizona Cardinals last season) after going undrafted in 2025.
Vrabel was asked at a press conference this past Saturday about his overall thoughts on the Patriots’ running back situation.
“Well, I think Rhamondre, the way that he finished the year, that was exciting,” Vrabel said. “We’ll see where TreVeyon is today at practice. Corey [Kiner], we talked about him when we traded for him that he was a player that we had looked at trying to get last year coming out. It didn’t work out. He’s a good young runner.
“We’ve kept Lan [Larison] here, giving him an opportunity to be on the practice squad, and then Hassan’s [Haskins] on the practice squad as well. So, whatever we need, some guys have a little bit of different strengths than maybe the other guys. So, there’s a little bit of everything, and then we’ll see who we end up using for the game.”
Whoever the Patriots play at running back will have to fight hard to pick up yards against an elite Seahawks defense. Seattle ranked No. 1 last season in both rushing yards per play allowed and rushing EPA per play allowed. Stevenson and Henderson combined to tally just 42 rushing yards (3.2 per carry) in the Super Bowl.
The Patriots need a more effective rushing attack on Wednesday to start the new season with a win.
