New England Patriots
New England is already playing without its two top wide receivers, starting guards, and backup running back.
Rhamondre Stevenson will reportedly be on the shelf for a few weeks. (Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff)
November 10, 2026 | 7:32 AM
2 minutes to read
The hits keep on coming for the New England Patriots.
A Patriots team stung by the injury bug throughout the 2026 season received more bad news late Monday night — with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reporting that running back Rhamondre Stevenson is set to “miss the next few weeks” with a knee injury.
According to Rapoport, Stevenson is dealing with a “plantaris tendon issue” in the back of his knee. Even though the veteran running back won’t need surgery to correct the ailment, he’s not expected back right away for a Patriots depth chart already short on dependable weapons for Drake Maye.
Stevenson suffered the injury late in the third quarter of Sunday’s 45-27 blowout loss to the Packers at Gillette Stadium. He was twisted down to the turf while recording a six-yard catch in the lopsided defeat, walking off under his own power.
He ran for 32 yards and had three catches for 46 yards with a receiving touchdown before leaving the game against Green Bay.
Even with a fumble on Sunday, Stevenson has been one of the few constants on an otherwise depleted Patriots offense — logging 65 percent of the team’s offensive snaps this season.
Through nine games, Stevenson recorded 399 rushing yards on 102 carries with two touchdowns while also adding 26 catches for 258 yards and two touchdowns.
It’s another brutal setback for the Patriots, who already entered Sunday’s game without two of their top wide receivers in A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs, their backup running back in TreVeyon Henderson, and their two starting guards in Michael Onwenu and Alijah Vera-Tucker.
Backup guard Ben Brown also suffered a knee injury on Sunday, while starting cornerback Carlton Davis also left the game early with a knee issue of his own.
With Stevenson sidelined and Henderson’s status uncertain after he announced last week that he was hospitalized due to “a series of unexplained neurological symptoms,” Corey Kiner now sits atop the Patriots’ running-back personnel entering Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions — set to be held in Munich, Germany.
The only other running back currently on New England’s 53-man roster is Lan Larison.
Kiner has been a bright spot in limited reps so far this season, averaging 4.9 yards per carry (244 yards off 50 rushes) with one touchdown.
“Do I think that Corey can handle that workload? I think Corey is working extremely hard,” Mike Vrabel said Monday. “I think Corey has done a really nice job. But there are also some things that Corey has to be able to improve on, which is, in a lot of guys, recognition of the pressure and then the ability to block the pressure that we saw yesterday, for example.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
