Patriots’ Mike Vrabel shoots down Rhamondre Stevenson discipline narrative

Amid speculation surrounding New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson’s perceived demotion, related to costly fumbles made from the get-go of the 2025 NFL season, head coach Mike Vrabel denied the narrative. Despite Stevenson reportedly being relegated to working third in tackling/ball carrier drills during practice this week, Vrabel says Rhamondre isn’t in any trouble.

Vrabel addressed Stevenson’s status when a reporter asked who would be starting at running back for the Patriots in Week 4’s matchup against the Carolina Panthers, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

“We have different packages. I don’t know what the first package is, but if you’re asking me if Rhamondre [Stevenson] is on some sort of discipline, no,” Vrabel said. “The discipline is we need our best players to play in a game, do their job, and take care of the football. And we have to do that. Drake [Maye] had an interception and a fumble. We’re not going to play Josh [Joshua Dobbs] right now.

“We have to fix those things, the people around them have to be better, and I’m confident that we will. I’m not going to talk about the alternative. I’ll go down that road later, but those are things that we have to get fixed. But we also have to do good things with the football, make people miss, make yards, and catch it and block when they blitz. So, we’re confident that those guys can do that.”

Stevenson made two costly fumbles in the Patriots’ 21-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, including one on the 1-yard line and the other on the opening drive of the game, which led to the Steelers’ first touchdown. Ball security has been an ongoing issue, a carryover from the 2024 NFL season, as Stevenson has tallied eight fumbles in his last 18 games.

Should Mike Vrabel bench Rhamondre Stevenson?