Injuries continue to shape the 2025 fantasy football season. One surprising injury in Week 9 is the New England Patriots’ running back Rhamondre Stevenson. Will that injury make TreVeyon Henderson a player who can start in fantasy lineups for Week 9? Read below to find out.
Rhamondre Stevenson Injury Update
Many expected Stevenson to be eclipsed in the New England Patriots’ backfield once the team drafted Henderson in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Instead, Stevenson took over the backfield through the first eight weeks of the season.
Stevenson leads the Patriots in carries (83), rushing yards (279), and rushing touchdowns (3) through the first eight weeks. He’s also outperformed the backfield in targets (19), receptions (16, tied for first), and receiving yards (169).
Stevenson’s reliability as a runner has even been able to offset his continued struggles with ball security (three fumbles). His role hasn’t been very valuable for fantasy (9.3 PPR points per game, RB37), but it has allowed him to have FLEX upside.
Stevenson handled his typical workload in Week 8, playing on 73.5% of the Patriots’ offensive snaps and carrying the ball 14 times for 34 yards and catching one of two targets for 15 yards. His inclusion on the team’s injury report on Tuesday was surprising, considering there was no hint he had been hurt in Week 8.
The veteran running back did not participate in a single practice before Week 9’s matchup against the Atlanta Falcons before ultimately being ruled out on Friday. His injury is not expected to be a long-term issue, but it will keep him out for at least one week.
TreVeyon Henderson Fantasy Outlook
The injury to Stevenson opens the door for Henderson to take on a larger role in New England’s backfield. The rookie is coming off his best performance of the season against the Cleveland Browns, handling 10 carries for 75 yards.
Henderson will undoubtedly see an expanded role in the backfield. Still, he may find himself in a frustrating split for fantasy managers with the second-year running back and former UDFA Terrell Jennings. Jennings has carved out a consistent role in the last two weeks, handling seven carries for 33 yards. By comparison, Henderson had just 12 rushes for 80 yards in the same span.
Thankfully, his Week 9 opponent, the Atlanta Falcons, has struggled against running backs this season. Atlanta is allowing the ninth-most yards per carry (4.6) and seventh-most yards before contact (2.5) this season. The Falcons have given up the fifth-highest rushing success rate (47.4%) and the 13th-highest explosive run rate (11.9%) to running backs in 2025. They also have the fifth-lowest strike rate this season (16.0%).
Henderson is set to see his largest workload of the season and should be expected to take the majority share of New England’s backfield in Week 9. Given that, and the Falcons’ struggles against running backs this season, Henderson should be considered an RB2 heading into Week 9.
He is a startable player in all formats, but fantasy managers need to temper their expectations given how the backfield has turned into a three-way split in recent weeks.