The Athletic's Jeff Howe reports that the "initial belief" is that Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson "will miss time, possibly multiple games," with the ankle injury he suffered in the Week 13 loss to the Chargers. Stevenson is scheduled for additional testing on the ankle on Monday, so we should get another update on his status then. But fantasy owners should plan on being without Stevenson for at least Week 14 -- and potentially the rest of the fantasy season. His absence leaves Ezekiel Elliott as New England's lead back and an unexciting but-useable fantasy play.

Patriots RB Ezekiel Elliott (thigh) is active for today’s game vs. the Chargers. Elliott sunk to a season-low 22% snap rate coming off the bye last week and would be a desperation Week 13 fantasy start.

Patriots RB Ezekiel Elliott (thigh) is expected to play vs. the Chargers today, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Elliott registered a season-low 22% snap rate coming off the bye last week. He'd be a desperation Week 13 fantasy play.

Patriots RB Ezekiel Elliott (thigh) was limited in practice all week and is listed as questionable for Sunday's game vs. the Chargers. We've heard nothing to suggest that Zeke is in danger of missing this one. But the thigh injury is just more reason to believe that RB Rhamondre Stevenson will control backfield work again this weekend.

Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson totaled 21 carries for 98 rushing yards and a TD in Week 12’s loss vs. the Giants. He also ranked tied for second on the team with 5 targets in the contest, hauling in 5 receptions for 9 yards as a pass-catcher. Though few things worked well for the Patriots’ offense, who split the QB reps between Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe, Sunday saw Stevenson play on a season-high 77.9% of the offensive snaps and out-touch teammate Ezekiel Elliott 26 to 11. In fact, Stevenson had only logged a 70+% snap rate in just two other games this season (Week 1-2). Fantasy managers looking ahead to Week 13 should be excited about starting Stevenson as he continues to see increased usage. He’s got a solid shot at repeating this effort against a Chargers defense that ranks 26th in run defense DVOA this season next Sunday.

Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson tallied 50 total yards in Sunday’s loss to Miami. Stevenson ran hard in this one, breaking several tackles while churning out extra yardage. He saw a 58.8% carry share though, as Zeke Elliott retained a sizable role. Stevenson at least saw 100% of the team’s red zone rush attempts. The 25-year-old now heads home to face the Commanders.

Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson totaled 9 carries for 34 rushing yards in Week 7’s surprise win vs. the Bills. Though his numbers on the ground weren’t impressive, Stevenson did manage to haul all 6 targets for 51 receiving yards as a pass-catcher in the contest. Those contributions were enough for Stevenson to post a respectable 14.5 PPR points on Sunday. His teammate Ezekiel Elliott logged 11 carries for 31 rushing yards and a score in the upset victory. We’re not about to get too excited about this New England offense after how poorly they’ve played over the course of October, but their resurgent effort today makes Stevenson more appealing for next week’s AFC East showdown vs. the Dolphins.

Patriots RBs Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott each received 8 carries in Week 5’s loss vs. the Saints for a combined 45 rushing yards. The New England pass-catchers didn’t perform much better in the 34-0 blowout either. WR Kendrick Bourne led the team in receiving with 43 yards on 2 catches. No other Pats player exceeded 25 receiving yards. This game is the second straight beating that this team has taken without much fantasy-relevant production. It’ll be curious to see if HC Bill Belichick makes a change at QB in Week 6 vs. the Raiders.

Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson (thigh) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game vs. the Saints. He was limited in practice all week. We haven't heard anything about Stevenson being in danger of missing Sunday's game -- but you can never be sure with New England. We'll look for updates on Stevenson's status and get the Patriots' inactives around 11:30 am ET on Sunday. RB Ezekiel Elliott would become a viable fantasy starter if Stevenson ends up out.

The Patriots made Ian Rapoport's Sunday Ezekiel Elliott report look like a lie. The NFL Network reporter said New England planned to give Elliott "starter reps" against his old team. That amounted to 6 carries and 3 targets in the 38-3 loss. Elliott totaled just 22 yards and watched Rhamondre Stevenson beat him 16-8 in touches. We'll see what gets reported about the Patriots backfield heading into Week 5, but Elliott's 3.9 yards per touch so far this season certainly don't scream that he needs to get the ball more. Stevenson managed only 40 total yards against the Cowboys. The New England backfield gets a tough matchup with New Orleans in Week 5 before a better spot at Las Vegas in Week 6.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Patriots RB Ezekiel Elliott will get "starter reps" in today's game against the Cowboys. Regardless of whether he technically starts, that means increased work against his old team. Elliott carried 16 times in last week's win over the Jets but still trailed Rhamondre Stevenson (19) in a run-heavy game plan. Don't be surprised if we get another rushing lean against Dallas, which arrives ranked 20th in run-defense DVOA and third-best against the pass. We've moved Elliott up the Week 4 rankings, where he could be a low RB2 or flex option this week. We'll see what this means for Stevenson's role, but we're not knocking New England's top back out of fantasy-starter range.

Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson carried the ball 19 times for 59 yards in Week 3 vs. the Jets. By the contest’s end, Stevenson had just 1 catch on 4 targets for 3 yards. On Sunday, Teammate Ezekiel Elliott had some standalone value with 16 carries for 80 yards. This was a bit of a disappointing outing for Stevenson, though the weather and the fact that the Patriots led the way for most of the game justifies some of why Elliott was so involved. Next up for the duo is a Week 4 matchup vs. the Cowboys.

Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson bounced back in Week 2, recording 15 carries for 50 yards and a TD on the ground vs. the Dolphins. He also added 3 catches on as many targets for 10 yards as a receiver. Fantasy managers are assuredly glad to see this resurgent performance. Still, teammate Ezekiel Elliott is on the field and used an annoying amount of the time. The veteran logged 5 attempts for 13 yards and accounted for 33.3% of the backfield carries. We still like Stevenson in a tough matchup vs. the Jets in Week 3 regardless.

Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson managed just 25 yards on 12 carries against the Eagles Sunday. He made up for that (in PPR leagues, at least) with 6 catches for 64 yards on 6 targets. That marked just 11.1% target share among QB Mac Jones' 54 pass attempts. Elliott actually edged Stevenson with 7 targets, catching 5 for 14 yards. We'll see how the distribution looks in lower-volume games. Stevenson did get a solid 60% share of RB carries, with Ezekiel Elliott taking 7 and Ty Montgomery 1. Stevenson and the Patriots get an upside matchup with the Dolphins in Week 2. If Elliott maintains that kind of receiving share, he could be a standalone fantasy option in deeper leagues. But we'd like to see another game before boosting him to that level.

On Tuesday, ESPN's Mike Reiss tweeted that Patriots RB Ezekiel Elliott saw "a notable uptick in work" in practice behind starter Rhamondre Stevenson. Reiss specified that Elliott received increased usage as a pass-catcher out of the backfield. Granted, this is only one report. We don't want to overreact or make any big takeaways here. The former All-Pro saw a career-low 23 targets with the Cowboys last season and likely won't be too much of a threat to Stevenson in that department. That said, we'll keep an eye on future reports should Elliott continue being utilized as a pass-catcher in practice as it could cut into the point scoring ceiling of Stevenson. He fell a smidge in our PPR RB rankings following Zeke's signing, but we still feel confident Stevenson will be the clear RB1 in this offense. Check back for further updates as we get more information.

Patriots RBs Pierre Strong (concussion) and Ty Montgomery (leg) returned to practice on Tuesday. Strong isn’t yet cleared for full contact, per reporter Zack Cox. Montgomery sustained an undisclosed leg injury on day 2 of training camp. Neither guy is on the fantasy radar in standard-size leagues following the arrival of Zeke Elliott.

The Patriots are unsurprisingly happy so far to have RB Ezekiel Elliott on board. (Otherwise, why would they have signed him?) Coaches have praised his football intelligence and communication with new teammates. The most noteworthy comment, though, seems like OC Bill O'Brien telling ESPN's Mike Reiss, "I do think he's a three-down back." Elliott's receiving fell way off last year, from 2.8 receptions per game in 2021 to just 1.1 in 2022. He also saw the second-fewest pass-blocking reps of his career, according to Pro Football Focus, trailing only a 2017 season in which Elliott was suspended for six games. This might be a throwaway comment from O'Brien. We'd be shocked if New England actually treated Elliott like a challenger to Rhamondre Stevenson's pass-game snaps. But we'll also keep watching for specifics on the new old guy's role. There remains plenty of separation between Stevenson and Elliott in our 2023 PPR rankings.

The Patriots are set to sign RB Ezekiel Elliott to a one-year deal worth "up to" $6 million, NFL Network reports. We'll see about the actual details of the contract but doubt the base value is anywhere close to $6 million. Elliott's name is much bigger than his game at this point. The 28-year-old averaged a career-low 3.8 yards per carry last season, ranking 43rd among 48 qualifiers in NFL Next Gen Stats' Rush Yards Over Expected Per Attempt. His usage and production plummeted in the passing game, too. Elliott caught just 17 of 23 targets for 92 yards (5.4 YPC) and 0 TDs. The Patriots have been flirting with free-agent RBs for a while now -- seemingly in large part because depth RBs Pierre Strong and Kevin Harris have failed to emerge. The Elliott signing is more about those guys than lead RB Rhamondre Stevenson. Zeke's arrival adds some risk to Stevenson's 2023 fantasy outlook. But Stevenson was more effective by basically any metric last year -- as a runner and pass-catcher -- and should remain the Patriots' clear backfield leader. Elliott looks more like a Stevenson handcuff than standalone fantasy option. But we'll keep an eye on New England's plans.

Update: Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the deal carries $3 million in base salary, $1 million in signing bonus, and incentives that can take it to $6 million.