New England Patriots running back Damien Harris was pretty banged up leaving the Week 5 matchup against the Houston Texans.
He left the game early with what the Patriots called a chest injury, but quickly returned. During the Patriots’ game-winning drive to seal the 25-22 victory, Harris took another big shot and left the game for good with a rib injury.
While on the field, the Patriots’ starting back had 14 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown — along with a fumble on the one-yard line that was initially called a score before review. Rhamondre Stevenson and Brandon Bolden were the only reserves behind Harris and they had to step up, which they did.
The severity of Harris’ injury hasn’t been revealed, but Stevenson displayed hope that it isn’t too serious following the game.
“He’s going to be fine,” Stevenson said, transcribed by NESN. “I mean, he’s a tough dude. He can weather any storm, so I’m not really worried about it. I know he’s not really too worried about it. I know he’s just going to go back to work and get his body back right (and) do whatever he has to do.”
While being asked on Monday morning about the injury, head coach Bill Belichick didn’t have much to offer.
“No, no update yet,” Belichick said.
Sony Michel was traded at the beginning of the season and James White is out for the rest of the year — leaving the Patriots extremely thin at the position. J.J. Taylor and Stevenson are the next-best options if Harris misses a chunk of time.
Establishing the run game is instrumental for the Patriots, so they have some work to do to keep that goal in line.
