TreVeyon Henderson
Henderson is the Patriots' No. 2 back, behind Rhamondre Stevenson, and his ankle injury leaves his availability unclear until the Monday testing results are known.
Role
Through four games, Stevenson has led the backfield with 61.5 percent of offensive snaps (SI, Oct. 11). Henderson has been the lesser share. His snap shares were about 60 percent in Week 2 and 37 percent (23 snaps) in Week 3, per Fantasy Football Calculator. Corey Kiner is the third back. Before Henderson left Sunday's game against the Raiders, he had four carries for 22 yards and a 16-yard catch (Pats Pulpit). Stevenson then got most of the backfield snaps, and Kiner mixed in. If Henderson misses time, Stevenson is the expected lead and Kiner the main backup. I found no report on the severity of the injury or on his timeline.
He is the more explosive back. In Week 2 he took over the lead role after Stevenson fumbled, with 16 carries for 76 yards and a 39-yard touchdown, and led the backs in snaps, routes and carries. Vrabel said both backs have major roles. Optimists say the lead role is his once he is healthy and Stevenson has more ball-security trouble.
He has not held the lead role. His Week 3 workload was cut in half (8 carries for 23 yards) and he averaged 3.7 yards per carry through three games, with one catch for six yards. SI called Stevenson clearly the 1A through four weeks. Now there is an ankle injury, and Kiner is also on the roster competing for touches.
Where analysts split
The question is whether Henderson or Stevenson is the lead back. Yahoo's Week 3 piece called it a coin flip, leaning Henderson after his Week 2 usage. SI's Week 5 piece and the snap data say Stevenson is clearly ahead. The injury makes the question harder to settle, and I found nothing on how long Henderson will be out.
Injury: Out: assessed avoid
Illness, listed questionable
Report simply says 'out' for a questionable illness designation, with no detail on severity or what's wrong; combined with an expected return date nearly a week out, this suggests he's unlikely to play this week.
What would change this: Confirmation of actual game status and any practice participation report closer to kickoff.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
Others at RB
Fantasy Memo reads your league and answers that every Tuesday, and checks again before kickoff.
Connect your league: 14 days free