FOXBORO — The Patriots have had several veteran free agent running backs come in for visits this preseason, but have not pulled the trigger on signing any of them – yet.
Perhaps the Patriots are waiting and hoping for any of their young running backs to impress enough in the preseason to earn an opportunity behind starter Rhamondre Stevenson, which would deem adding a veteran unnecessary. But their performances in Thursday’s preseason opener didn’t exactly eliminate the Patriots’ need in the backfield.
With Stevenson taking the night off with the rest of the offensive starters, no one in the backfield stood out in the Patriots’ 20-9 loss to the Texans or emerged as a favorite as New England’s No. 2 back. Pierre Strong, Kevin Harris and J.J. Taylor each received opportunities while Ty Montgomery continued to sit out injured, but behind a makeshift offensive line that didn’t give them much room to operate, they combined to gain just 35 rushing yards on 18 attempts.
“I mean, we’re dealing with some injuries on the offensive line,” Bill Belichick said. “But the guys that were in there got some experience. But, yeah, it’s tough for the backs. It’s tough for the quarterback. Yeah, we didn’t have a lot of space on the offense for the most part tonight.”
Ezekiel Elliott, Leonard Fournette and Darrell Henderson have each visited Foxboro and remain available, and the calls for a veteran like them will only grow louder after Thursday.
“As a unit, we went out there and gave it our all,” Taylor said. “We did what we could do and sometimes doing what we can do is not enough but at other times it is. Just learn from it, come back tomorrow and pick up from there. …
“I haven’t watched the film, but all I know is this is going to be something to learn from, we can learn a lot from it and as a group, we’re going to come in tomorrow and pay attention, study, learn from it and then hopefully come out (better) next time.”
While the line certainly didn’t do them any favors, the Patriots’ backs couldn’t make a play for themselves.
Harris, who finished the night with 10 yards on eight carries, has looked good during short-yardage situations in camp but didn’t take advantage of a prime opportunity on the Patriots’ opening series of the third quarter. Facing fourth-and-1, the big second-year back couldn’t find any ground and was stuffed at the line of scrimmage for a turnover.
Strong, who started the night at running back, couldn’t convert on an opportunity in the passing game, where there’s clear opportunity as a third-down back behind Stevenson, who figures to be the early-down workhorse. The Pats faced a third-and-2 early in the second quarter when Bailey Zappe found Strong on a dump-off in the flat, but the back couldn’t make a defender miss and fell short of a first down.
Taylor led the running back trio with 21 offensive snaps – many on third down – while Harris finished with 15 and Strong had 14. The elusive Taylor, who’s in his fourth camp, looks the most capable in the passing game but certainly needs to do more to cement a spot. He caught two passes for 11 yards, and had just four carries for four yards.
“Always have something to prove,” Taylor said on his preseason approach. “I mean, we’re in the NFL. It’s a job based off of performance, so just trying to prove myself and prove that I belong here.”
With less than a month until the season opener and a couple of preseason games remaining that will include joint practices, there’s time for someone to emerge in this backfield. But if Thursday was any indication, they may need to bring someone in from the outside.
For now, this room will get back to work with next week’s game against the Packers ahead and look for ways to improve.
“The (running back) room is great. The camaraderie is amazing,” Taylor said,.” We all look out for each other. We all got each other’s back. I know we’re fighting for jobs and stuff like that, but at the end of the day, we all want to see each other succeed.”