Treveyon Henderson New England Patriots
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Some pundits speculated the New England Patriots would add a running back at the NFL trade deadline after second-year back TreVeyon Henderson suffered a high-ankle sprain in early October. But Henderson hasn’t missed a game, playing through the injury.
That should have silenced the crowd calling for a running back trade for the Patriots. But it hasn’t.
With Henderson coming off his worst game of the season, SI on Patriots’ Ethan Hurwitz argued New England should consider targeting veteran running back Tony Pollard from the Tennessee Titans before the trade deadline.
“TreVeyon Henderson, who was expected to have a large role this year in the passing attack, has really struggled on the ground — and carried the ball just three times on Thursday. Corey Kiner, a hard runner, just doesn’t have the NFL experience yet for a larger workload,” wrote Hurwitz.
“So maybe the Patriots look to find some help with a receiving option. Tony Pollard, who was rumored to potentially join the Patriots through a trade last season, has 349 yards and one touchdown on a bad Tennessee Titans team. He fits the mold of a Josh McDaniels running back in this offense.”
Pollard has posted four straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons. During his first 1,000-yard campaign with the Dallas Cowboys in 2022, Pollard made the Pro Bowl.
This season, the Titans running back has 478 rushing yards and four touchdowns after seven contests.
Could Patriots Target RB Tony Pollard at the NFL Trade Deadline?
Tony Pollard New England Patriots
GettyCould the New England Patriots pursue a trade deadline deal for running back Tony Pollard?
Veteran Rhamondre Stevenson has seen his playing time increase pretty significantly this season. That’s seemingly because Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel doesn’t really trust another running back on the roster besides Stevenson.
In three of the past four weeks, Stevenson has played at least 65% of New England’s offensive snaps. The Patriots have deployed Stevenson on 63.6% of their offensive plays overall this season. That’s up from 59.4% last year.
With that in mind, the Patriots could use another running back to supplement the veteran. That’s where Pollard might fit in.
The veteran has been a highly productive running back and has experience from early in his career sharing the backfield. When needed, though, Pollard can still carry the load.
Against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Pollard received 25 carries, running for 129 yards and three touchdowns.
Quarterback Drake Maye is playing a lot better now than he was in September. But that kind of backfield production would be a great asset for the signal-caller.
TreVeyon Henderson Struggling to Find Role for New England
Treveyon Henderson New England Patriots
GettySI on Patriots suggested the New England Patriots acquire another running back with Treveyon Henderson struggling.
It’s pretty crazy to think about the Patriots potentially acquiring a running back to push Henderson down the depth chart. When he’s going, the former second-round pick is truly electric.
That’s been evident at times this season. In Week 2 versus the Pittsburgh Steelers, Henderson had a 39-yard touchdown run.
But after his 76 rushing yards against the Steelers, he hasn’t eclipsed 42 yards in a game since then.
Perhaps his injury has something to do with that. Either way, though, Henderson only had three carries for nine yards Thursday night against the Chicago Bears. In that game, he played 13 offensive snaps.
Henderson hasn’t played more than 16 snaps in a game since Week 4.
The Patriots shouldn’t give up on Henderson. But this season, it wouldn’t be shocking if New England acquired a running back to support Stevenson. Henderson hasn’t been able to do that lately, and neither has anyone else on the Patriots roster.
New England also has running back Corey Kiner on the active roster.
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Dave Holcomb is a sports reporter covering the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers and a variety of other NFL teams. Originally from Pittsburgh, Holcomb has covered college and professional sports for outlets including FanSided, Rotowire and Yardbarker. More about Dave Holcomb
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