New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel spoke to reporters on Wednesday about rookie Treveyeon Henderson’s role in last week’s 32-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns. Henderson had his best game of the season, rushing 10 times for a career-high 75 yards but lost the first fumble of his NFL career in the process.
Despite the turnover, Vrabel was pleased with Henderson’s performance, though seemed more focused on his special teams role than getting the RB more touches on offense.
“I thought he ran well out in space,” Vrabel told the media. “I thought he made a good cut on one of those perimeter plays. Continue to work and got a couple returns, and I feel like we could be better there. But being able to have his speed on the edge, we’re going to try to use all of the skill players that we have.”
Those comments could signify the overall lack of trust that Vrabel has in the rookie running back down the stretch of the season.
Patriots Are Interested In Adding Another RB At NFL Trade Deadline
ESPN’s Mike Reiss recently reported that the Patriots are among the teams who will be looking to add a running back at the NFL trade deadline on Nov. 4.
Patriots “most likely” to target RB, veteran pass rusher at trade deadline, via @MikeReiss.
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) October 29, 2025
The Patriots recently added undrafted free agent Terrell Jennings to the 53-man roster and veteran D’Ernest Johnson to the practice squad.
Breece Hall, Jerome Ford, and Tony Pollard are among the running backs expected to be available. While Hall might be a good fit, Ford and Pollard would hardly solve the Patriots conundrum in the backfield.
New England ranks near the bottom of the NFL in yards per carry. Those numbers would look even worse when you factor in that quarterback Drake Maye, the team’s second-leading rusher, is averaging a team-best 4.9 yards per carry.
Whether the Patriots pursue outside help or not, Henderson’s inconsistent usage remains a reflection of the coaching staff’s confidence in the rookie.
Henderson’s Playing Time Has Been Trending Down Since Week 5
Though Henderson’s 10 carries were his second-highest total of the season, he hasn’t exactly been taking over the starting running back role in recent weeks.
#Patriots RB TreVeyon Henderson:
“The coaches gave me a lot more opportunities this week, so I’m grateful that I was able to help this team come out with a win.”
Henderson also added that the game plan included giving him more chances to get out into space on toss plays 📈 pic.twitter.com/MyfMPEDyoF
— Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) October 28, 2025
While most rookies are starting to get more involved on offense at this point of the season, Henderson has seen his playing time diminish over the past two games. He’s played fewer than 25% of the offensive snaps during that span, including a season-low 14% of snaps in New England’s Week 7 win over the Tennessee Titans.
Among players with at least 25 carries, Henderson leads all Patriots running backs in yards per carry (4.3). He’s also been less involved in the passing game of late. After securing a season-high six catches in his NFL debut, Henderson has had zero targets in back-to-back games.
If last week’s performance proved anything, it’s that the Patriots need to get Henderson the ball out in space more often, where he can utilize his speed to get to the edge.
Henderson still needs to improve his efficiency between the tackles, but offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels also has to do a better job of tailoring his usage to his strengths in order to maximize his explosiveness within the offense.
With the Patriots offense struggling to find explosive plays in the run game, Henderson’s speed remains one of their few game-changing assets. Whether that leads to an expanded role or a continued timeshare will depend on whether he can earn Vrabel’s confidence.
