Reiss: TreVeyon Henderson (ankle) not present

Stevenson was held out of the end zone against the Dolphins, but comfortably paced his team with 22 touches and was handed the ball on each of the Patriots’ first three plays. Stevenson ran hard on inside runs and played well as a receiver, as usual. A fake pitch from inside the Dolphins’ five-yard line had at least one Dolphins defender convinced that Stevenson was headed for the end zone, but Drake Maye kept the ball and ran it into the end zone himself. Stevenson remains firmly in play as an RB2 next week against the Packers.

Henderson first popped on the injury report with a missed practice Thursday before maintaining that status to end the week, ultimately unable to play through the ailment while being ruled out Saturday. Rhamondre Stevenson steps into a potential workhorse role against the downtrodden Dolphins, where he will be an upside RB2 in Week 8. Expect the team to elevate another back from their practice squad ahead of Sunday’s game to play behind Stevenson and Corey Kiner, the latter of whom is expected to serve as the primary change of pace option with Henderson out.

Henderson missed practice Thursday with an illness, ultimately drawing the questionable tag for the team’s Week 8 divisional clash with the Dolphins. That places fantasy managers in a precarious position considering the team plays in the afternoon portion of the Sunday slate. It would be prudent to make alternate plans at FLEX.

Illnesses typically don’t hold back NFL players, so we’d be surprised if Henderson missed time, but it is worth noting that it was a Thursday addition to the report. Because of that, if he missed Friday, it wouldn’t be surprising if he was listed as questionable. We’d still expect him to play either way.

Henderson continues to play second, or third, fiddle behind Rhamondre Stevenson when the Patriots are forced into “gotta have it” mode, with Stevenson the back most trusted in key situations. The Patriots fell into an early hole and were playing catch-up throughout against the Bears, something that could help to explain the lowly opportunity total for the back widely considered the more explosive of the two. Furthermore, the team continued to rotate Corey Kiner through the opportunity pecking order, placing another sizable dent in the weekly floor of Henderson. Although he could find more opportunities in a softer matchup in Week 8, he’ll be a difficult click to insert into fantasy lineups against the Dolphins.

Stevenson scored one of the more improbable touchdowns you will see late in the second quarter. After taking possession with just 14 seconds remaining on the clock, Drake Maye completed an 18-yard pass to A.J. Brown to place the ball near midfield with three seconds remaining before the half. Instead of heaving the ball deep on a Hail Mary, Maye dumped the ball off to Stevenson in the flat with blockers out front. Stevenson would do the rest on his way to a 48-yard score as time expired in the second frame on a score that never really should have happened. The six carries go down as a season-low for the veteran back, although 11 opportunities handily led the team. Stevenson has not seen more than 14 carries since Week 1 and is not finding paint frequently enough to remain a consistent RB2, making him a shaky weekly start moving forward. That holds true ahead of a Week 8 meeting with the Dolphins.

Henderson will be active for the Patriots’ Thursday Night Football game, but his usage is up in the air. Patriots coach Mike Vrabel got RB Corey Kiner going late last week after Henderson fumbled. The Patriots won’t simply discard their former second-round pick, so he remains FLEX-viable, but he may be playing with a very limited touch count.

It’s been a stunningly quick recovery from what looked to be a high-ankle sprain that could sideline him. Henderson has practiced in full both days this week. We’re not concerned that he won’t play, but after fumble problems struck last week and Corey Kiner closed out the Jets in the fourth quarter, we do have slightly lowered expectations for his Thursday night stat line.

Surprisingly active, Henderson was unsurprisingly disappointing. Although his lost third quarter fumble was his first of the season, it predictably landed him in the doghouse. He touched the ball just two times thereafter, and the Patriots decided to ride No. 3 running back Corey Kiner is closeout mode. Kiner took 11 carries in the final 16:30 of game time. We know Henderson has big-play ability, but now playing at less than 100 percent in a backfield that is beginning to look like a three-man ordeal, he’s not a particularly appealing RB3/FLEX heading into Thursday’s short-week date with the Bears.

Stevenson was not targeted in the passing game. He didn’t make any big mistakes — that would be TreVeyon Henderson with his third quarter fumble — but like Hendo, Stevenson found himself mostly on the bench late as the Pats surprisingly rode No. 3 back Corey Kiner in closeout mode. Kiner received 11 carries in the game’s final 16:30. Speaking afterward, coach Mike Vrabel literally called it a hot-hand situation. The “hot hand” is something Stevenson rarely develops, so he can ill afford this backfield becoming a three-man committee. For now, Stevenson is still the Pats’ No. 1 running back. but things just got a little dicier heading into Thursday’s short-week matchup with the Bears.