Josh McDaniels Doesn't See Patriots Trade Needs

Of course, McDaniels is content to endorse the team’s current positional depth chart, consisting of Stevenson, rookie TreVeyon Henderson and veteran Terrell Jennings — who was recently signed to the active roster from the practice squad.

“I think we have all the answers we need,” McDaniels told reporters at Gillette Stadium earlier this week. “Once training camp starts you don’t count on anything outside of what you have in the locker room and you really don’t need anything outside of what you have. We’ve spent all the time we had trying to figure out how to put our players that are here in great positions. The guys know exactly how we want to try to play. I think different parts of our offense progress at different rates.”

Josh McDaniels: “We Have the Guys”

McDaniels’ support of his current personnel should not be surprisingly. Stevenson overcame some early issues with ball security to become a reliable back, both in the red zone and out of the backfield. However, the Oklahoma product has missed the Pats’ first two practices, in preparation for their weekend matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. Facing the prospect of having only two healthy options at the position [Henderson and Jennings,] the Patriots circumstances may ultimately force their hand prior to next week’s deadline.

Nevertheless, McDaniels remains undaunted — even if injury continues to threaten his corps of running backs heading into Week 9 and beyond.

“We’re not even halfway through the season and I think there’s still a lot of improvements to be made for us,” McDaniels added. “I know that’s what we’re focused on … and we have the guys.”