New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson received a bit of positive news regarding his injury on Thursday afternoon. The running back should be “good to go” for the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks. The Boston Globe’s Christopher Price reported this.
Henderson had to leave practice earlier this week as he slipped on turf. He ended up avoiding a serious right ankle injury, and the initial report worried Patriots fans. The Ohio State product did not travel with the team for Thursday night’s preseason finale against the Cleveland Browns out of precaution.
Henderson Eased Into Role For Patriots
This is certainly a positive development for the Patriots running back room. Henderson ended up being a key piece of what the Patriots did offensively last year. This was magnified by the injury to running back Rhamondre Stevenson in the middle part of the season.
At the start of the season, Henderson did not get a ton of use out of the backfield. Through the first seven games, he averaged just 6.1 carries per game. He only recorded double-digit carries once during this stretch of time. Initial trends viewed Henderson favorably in the offense. The running back played 35% of the snaps in the season opener against the Miami Dolphins.
However, the running back saw his production begin to decline, as he had only a 14% snap share by the end of October.
Henderson Becomes Lead Back For Patriots
Henderson’s big break came at a costly time. Stevenson was ruled out in week nine against the Atlanta Falcons, and that allowed Henderson to take on a bigger role despite the unfortunate injury. Statistically, his volume of carries increased to 15.1 per game. This was a dramatic increase from the 6.1 he was receiving earlier in the season. It was clear after the Falcons game that his workload was here to stay. He had double-digit carries in eight of nine games.
As a result of his production, his statistics saw a leap as well. This was culminated by a 147-yard performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He ran for 55- and 69-yard touchdowns on 19 carries. The playmaker followed up that performance with three total touchdowns against the Jets the following week. By the time Stevenson came back, Henderson had fully cemented himself as a key playmaker in the running back room.
Now, he is looking to replicate that performance once again this season. He was a major reason why the Patriots ranked sixth in the NFL in rushing yards.
On top of this, he showed that he could be a dependable workhorse in case the running back room suffered injuries. The Patriots had a two-headed attack in the backfield for the first time in a while last season. It worked wonders for the offense.
Obviously, this will be a situation to monitor over the course of the next couple of weeks. However, this update is certainly a positive one. The Patriots will need all of their players healthy as they get set to take on the defending Super Bowl champions. Henderson is a big part of what the Patriots do offensively, and his absence would undoubtedly be felt.
Patriots Receive Huge TreVeyon Henderson Injury News