Patriots' Mike Vrabel sends message to Rhamondre Stevenson after latest fumble

The New England Patriots earned arguably the most impressive win of Week 5 when they notched a 23-20 victory at the previously unbeaten Buffalo Bills on Sunday night. 

However, that game featured New England running back Rhamondre Stevenson losing yet another fumble in the contest's first quarter.

During a Monday morning appearance on Boston sports radio station WEEI, first-year Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel sent a message to Stevenson regarding an issue that has impacted the Patriots far too often.

Patriots need to put Rhamondre Stevenson "fire" out

"I think Rhamondre understands how critical the ball is, but we've got to start putting that fire out and making sure that until we're back in the huddle that that ball remains in our possession, whether we're going down or we're close to the ground," Vrabel said, as shared by Tom Carroll of Audacy. 

According to StatMuse, no running back has been responsible for more fumbles than Stevenson (17) since the Patriots made him a fourth-round pick during the 2021 NFL Draft. As it pertains to the 2025 season, Stevenson and Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers have lost a league-high three fumbles since the start of Week 1. 

That said, Vrabel continued to trust Stevenson after fellow running back Antonio Gibson suffered an apparent leg injury on Sunday night. Stevenson rewarded his coach by scoring a pair of rushing touchdowns, the second of which occurred early in the fourth quarter. 

How Rhamondre Stevenson is "valuable" to Patriots despite fumbles

"We go with all of them, and we’ll use all of them," Vrabel added about how he utilized Stevenson and New England's other ball-carriers at Buffalo's Highmark Stadium. "[Stevenson is] valuable in protection, and when teams start blitzing and heat this up, it's critical that somebody protects the quarterback. And they can go short yardage instances and around the goal line, and we mix carries up. So everybody's going to have a role, and we'll have to continue to take care of the ball. And so you have to make those decisions."

Shortly after Vrabel made his comments, ESPN BET had the 3-2 Patriots as 3.5-point road favorites for this coming Sunday's game at the New Orleans Saints (1-4). It could be interesting to see how many touches Stevenson sees in the first half of that contest coming off his two-touchdown performance versus Buffalo.