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Patriots playing it safe with standout RB
The New England Patriots are playing things safe with running back Rhamondre Stevenson this summer.
Rhamondre Stevenson said he’s been itching to join padded practices (he was instructed to sit out most of today), but doesn’t mind resting on non-padded days. pic.twitter.com/ODdcs6Ef8x
— Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) August 2, 2023
Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson: "Honestly, you've got to ask Bill Belichick why I'm not practicing."
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) August 2, 2023
The team is managing his workload early in training camp.
According to a report by Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald, the 25-year-old has spent three of the team's first seven training camp sessions "away from the majority of his teammates working on a side field conditioning."
Stevenson was the focal point of a weak Patriots offense in 2022, recording the sixth-most touches (279) by a New England player in a single season since Bill Belichick took over in 2000, per Kyed's report. He was on the field for 66% of the team's offensive snaps (699) and led the group by a significant margin in rushing attempts (210) and rushing yards (1,040), while pacing the Patriots with his five rushing scores as well.
Stevenson even led New England in receptions (69) and was second in targets (88).
The Oklahoma product slowed down a bit towards the end of the year, as he followed up his career day of 172 rushing yards and a touchdown in Week 14 with three consecutive lackluster efforts. Stevenson combined for just 126 scoreless yards via 27 carries and nine catches for 40 yards on 15 targets in the last three games of the season.
Despite the cutback on his reps through the early part of training camp, Stevenson said that he trusts the decision-makers.
"All these guys, all the coaches, the staff have been in the league for way longer than I have," he said. "So, whatever they say, I just take it and do what they say and just take it with a grain of salt.”
The Patriots lack running back depth behind Stevenson, as the projected backup is 30-year-old veteran Ty Montgomery, who was injured during the first week of training camp and has been seen working on conditioning the last two days, according to Kyed. Former starter Damien Harris signed with the Buffalo Bills in March.
After Montgomery is 2022 fourth-round pick Pierre Strong, though New England has either had discussions with or hosted notable free agent backs like Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliott and Leonard Fournette.
More must-reads:
- JuJu Smith-Schuster shares what's surprised him about Bill Belichick
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Steelers Release Rookie WR
The Pittsburgh Steelers have already begun to decrease their roster size as they enter the second week of training camp. The rest of the remaining roster is set to wear pads for the first time this summer, but three players who began this offseason with the organization were officially waived or had their contracts terminated. A headliner among the first roster cuts for the Steelers is promising rookie wide receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig. The 6'2" pass-catcher was hoping to take advantage of the competition within Pittsburgh's receiving room, but his performance through rookie camp, OTAs and the first week of training camp were not enough to keep him around. The team placed him and linebacker Jeremiah Moon on the waived/injured list. Both he and Moon were released with injury designations. This means that they could be in line for an injury settlement if they clear waivers and revert to the Steelers' Injured Reserve (IR). Lemonious-Craig joined the Steelers in May of this year after going undrafted in the 2025 NFL Draft. He spent his collegiate career with two schools. He began at the University of Colorado, playing in that program between 2020 and 2022. As a sophomore, he recorded the best collegiate season of his career with Colorado. Over 11 games, he hauled in 23 receptions for 359 yards and two touchdowns. Following his sophomore campaign, he transferred to the University of Arizona to complete his NCAA eligibility. He played two seasons with the Wildcats, collecting 45 receptions for 468 yards and three touchdowns. Lemonious-Craig made waves during the pre-draft scouting process. Despite limited production over his five NCAA campaigns, he ran a 4.4 40-yard dash during his pro day. That speed, combined with his size, drew the Steelers to him and earned him a shot at camp.
Yankees’ planned fire sale after Aaron Judge injury epitomizes roster weakness
Would the New York Yankees still be a heavyweight contender without Aaron Judge? Most fans would doubt it. What comes as a shock is that Yankees general manager, Brian Cashman, appears to agree. According to MLB insider Andy Martino of SNY, Cashman had explored the option of selling ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline (6 p.m. EST) if Judge’s flexor strain had turned out to be something worse. Martino wrote this: “[On Saturday], we relayed that the Yankees were floating some of their free-agent-to-be relievers in preliminary trade talks. We have since learned through league sources that last week the Yanks brought up Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt in talks with at least one other club.” It would be strange to see a team with a record well above .500 shop core hitters at the deadline. Both Bellinger and Goldschmidt — hitting .281/.333/.507 with 19 home runs and .283/.341/.419 with eight home runs respectively entering Tuesday — have been valuable producers for the Yankees this year. Goldschmidt signed a one-year deal with the Bronx Bombers over the offseason while Bellinger was acquired via trade with the Cubs. He is signed through 2026 but has a player option at the end of the year. Either player would bring a nice haul back to the Yankees. Of course, the reigning AL MVP’s injury doesn’t seem to be a season-altering, ‘abandon ship’ type of event. Optimistically, Judge should be back soon. But this does serve to illustrate how the team’s success is dependent on one player. Beyond Judge, the Yankees’ batting order doesn’t feature a star-caliber player, or at least a player the lineup can be built around. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, New York lacks enough solid hitters to be considered a worthy contender without Judge. The Yankees’ three bottom-of-the-order hitters — Austin Wells (.214), Anthony Volpe (.213) and newest acquisition Ryan McMahon (.223) — all own batting averages below .230 entering Tuesday. And this doesn’t include J.C. Escarra (.205), Oswald Peraza (.152) or even Ben Rice (.229). If Judge was lost for the season, selling wouldn’t have been a bad idea. He is insoluble glue holding the battered Yankees’ roster together, especially with Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt gone for the year. No one on the trade market could replace him, but with Judge coming back, the Yankees might have enough firepower to at least limp to the finish line.
Ben Roethlisberger Sends Serious Warning About Steelers' Broderick Jones
The 2025 season will be a crucial one for the Pittsburgh Steelers and all of the decision-makers that completely revamped the roster during the offseason. The depth chart looks much different than it did back in 2024, so there will be several adjustments that need to be made. One positional group that looks relatively similar, but has been affected by some reshuffling, is the offensive line. Troy Fautanu is back after an injury-plagued rookie campaign, and Broderick Jones will finally get to play left tackle on a consistent basis for the first time in his professional career. Jones is, without a doubt, one of the most important players in the entire projected starting lineup. Keeping Aaron Rodgers upright will be crucial, and the third-year lineman has not necessarily proven that he can be trusted. He suffered an injury to begin training camp, but is reportedly going to be just fine and return to the field sooner rather than later. No one knows how important it is to have a strong offensive line more than future Hall of Fame quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers' legendary signal-caller never got to play with Jones, but he keeps tabs on the team and shares his thoughts often on his podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger. On the most recent episode, he highlighted how critical it is so have a good group up front blocking, and he mentioned Jones by name. "I would probably start, as I do a lot of times, about the importance of the offensive line," Roethlisberger began. "I'd say that's the biggest question, and it should be because to me, the line is always the MVP. The way the line plays, run game, pass game, everything revolves around that. More specifically, Broderick Jones, moving now back to left tackle." Training camp hasn't gotten off to a great start for Jones with the injury, but some may be happy that he lost some weight during the 2025 offseason. Roethlisberger said he understands why, but is still concerned. "I've heard he's thinned down, which is good to a certain extent, right," Roethlisberger said. "They want to work on getting tackles out and running the outside zones and stretch plays. So, you got to be a little, you know, more agile, but you know, you also don't want to be too small when you're supposed to be a tackle. So, that's always going to be a concern of mine, is him and the line in general staying healthy." There are some massive edge rushers in the NFL, and Roethlisberger is right in saying that being too small as a tackle can be problematic. Jones will have to go up against Myles Garrett twice in 2025, and the offseason weight loss won't look like a good thing if he is manhandled throughout those matchups. The Steelers' offensive line might be the unit that makes or breaks the team's season. Staying healthy will be the number one priority, but it is almost imperative that the group actually is successful. If edge rushers are constantly bulldozing through Jones, it could be serious cause for concern. It seems as if that it what Roethlisberger has some reservations about. If Jones doesn't perform at a high level in 2025, the 2023 NFL Draft day trade-up in the first round will be looked at as a failure. The organization has to make a decision on Jones' fifth-year option during the 2026 offseason, so the left tackle better hope that some of the weight he had shed ends up helping him significantly, instead of the other way around. Steelers Will Need Entire Offensive Line To Be Elite In 2025 While Jones is going to be the number one scapegoat if things go south, the big men up front will be a huge part of Pittsburgh's offensive failures or successes as the season progresses. Roethlisberger's comments regarding the starting left tackle's offseason will certainly cause a little bit of worry, but the unit as a whole has to prove consistency when the games matter.
Twins' Rocco Baldelli Announces Carlos Correa Update After Leaving Red Sox Game
Shortstop Carlos Correa is in his fourth season with the Minnesota Twins after debuting in the majors with the Houston Astros in 2015. The former first overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft lived up to expectations early, winning AL Rookie of the Year in his first full season. Over seven seasons in Houston, he earned two All-Star selections, a Gold Glove award, and helped the Astros capture two World Series titles. Correa joined Minnesota in free agency prior to the 2022 season, and made his third career All-Star appearance last year—his first with the Twins. However, a flare-up of plantar fasciitis in his right foot sidelined him for nearly the entire second half. He still finished 2024 with a strong stat line, hitting .310 with a .905 OPS and 14 home runs over 86 games. During Tuesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox, Correa was removed from the game in the second inning and replaced with Brooks Lee. Manager Rocco Baldelli provided an update during the game, “Carlos was a little lightheaded out there and it didn't go away so we're going to get him out of the game.” This season, Correa has yet to regain the offensive form he showed last year. Through 92 games, he’s batting .265 with a career-low .701 OPS and has hit just seven home runs. His struggles have contributed to Minnesota’s disappointing 51–55 record, and the team now looks poised to be sellers at the trade deadline on Thursday.
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