With a playoff spot for the New England Patriots and fantasy football championships on the line, Patriots’ fans and fantasy managers both find themselves asking, “is Rhamondre Stevenson playing today?”
As the RB continues to deal with an ankle injury, he is once again listed as questionable heading into Week 17. Let’s take a look at the latest injury update for Stevenson and what we can expect from a fantasy perspective if he does suit up.
Update: Stevenson is active for Week 17.
Is Rhamondre Stevenson Playing Today?
For the third straight week, Stevenson is questionable heading into game day, but the expectation is that he will once again suit up. The ankle injury that Stevenson suffered back on Monday Night Football in Week 14 has yet to see him miss a game and that does not appear to be changing this week. We have seen Stevenson limited all week in practice before being listed as questionable, continuing on from the same situation last week.
In terms of how the ankle injury has translated to game-day performance, the results have been mixed. In Week 15, Stevenson played 66% of the offensive snaps, which was his lowest since Week 8. However, he was still used plenty, touching the ball 21 times on 22 opportunities, his third-highest usage of the season. Stevenson finished with 172 rushing yards, a touchdown, and 168 total yards on those touches.
Unfortunately, Stevenson was not able to back that up last week when the Patriots hosted the Cincinnati Bengals. He finished with 30 rushing yards on 13 attempts, with three receiving yards on two receptions from five targets, and he lost a game-costing fumble in the fourth quarter. The somewhat good news from that game is that Stevenson played on 91% of the offensive snaps, suggesting his ankle was not restricting him too much.
Heading into Week 17 against the Miami Dolphins, there is a slight shift in the situation for the Patriots backfield. Damien Harris (thigh) is set to return to the field for the first time since Week 12, as he was cleared from the Patriots’ injury report this week. His return will allow the Patriots to lean on Stevenson a little less, rotating Harris in on certain drives and early downs.
MORE: Top Week 17 Start/Sit Recommended Plays
However, despite the potential for fewer snaps for Stevenson, the output this year with and without Harris has not differed all that much. While the two backs were splitting drives, Stevenson was still seeing additional work on third downs and in crucial situations. When you look at Stevenson’s output with and without Harris, he actually averages more fantasy points per game when Harris was active than when he was not.
Comparing the numbers without context is not perfect because there were times that Harris suited up and played but either got hurt or was hurt coming into the game. Additionally, Stevenson also got hurt in Week 14 and played just 14 snaps. Therefore, if we look at snaps and opportunities in games where Harris played more than 10 snaps compared to when he played 10 or fewer, we get a better contrast.
In the games where Harris played 10 or more snaps, Stevenson averages 38.9 snaps and 16.9 touches per game. Meanwhile, discounting Week 14, when Stevenson got injured, he averages 49.6 snaps and 19 touches per game when Harris plays 10 or fewer snaps in the game. With Harris now expected to be close to full health for Week 17, we could see Stevenson getting a reduced workload.
That puts fantasy managers in a tricky situation. With Stevenson managing an ankle injury and Harris now healthy, the shape of this backfield is not certain. Generally, we have seen Stevenson touching the ball more than Harris when both have been active. However, the uncertainty is not something we ideally look for in championship week.
Stevenson looks set to be active, and in that event, it will be tricky to sit him. With all that in mind, be sure to check out our latest Week 17 RB fantasy rankings and Week 17 Flex rankings to see if your other fantasy options are safer starts than Stevenson this week.
Additionally, if you are playing in Underdog Fantasy Best Ball formats today, Stevenson is intriguing. It is risky to put too much expectation on him with the injury and the return of Harris. If Stevenson is still there in the later selections, then his upside at least makes him intriguing if you have built a solid base of options around him for this week.
