In many ways, the 2025 Patriots were blessed with great fortune. Injury luck was perhaps the most significant.
This year has been a different story.
They lost A.J. Brown in Week 1, they’re on their third string right guard after Mike Onwenu broke his ankle, they played without star cornerback Christian Gonzalez and defensive tackle Christian Barmore in Week 4, Harold Landry has still yet to appear anywhere close to being able to start his season, and they’re one of the most injury-plagued teams in the league this season.
That problem might have gone from bad to worse over the weekend, when the Patriots potentially lost two key offensive starters in Rhamondre Stevenson and Mack Hollins.
Stevenson’s injury flew under the radar, as he limped off the field after a run for no gain with a minute left in Sunday’s win over the Bills. With Stevenson on the sideline, the Patriots’ offense passed on second down (incomplete) and third down (complete to Hunter Henry for 12 yards) to seal the victory.
And in what is perhaps a bad sign for Stevenson’s availability, the team brought in Jamaal Williams for a workout on Tuesday.
Certainly, the Patriots lack depth at running back, with Corey Kiner being the only back on the active roster behind TreVeyon Henderson. Lan Larison, who has two career touches out of the backfield, is on the practice squad.
The 31-year-old Williams set career highs with 1,066 yards and an NFL-leading 17 rushing touchdowns in 2022, but he ran for just 164 yards in 2024 and did not play in 2025. Whether the workout leads to anything more from the Patriots is almost irrelevant to the reality that the team looking into backs who have not been effective for the past four years is a sign that the lack of depth at running back is already causing some issues for the offense.
“There’s a chance that he can play [Sunday]. Just, there’s no chance that he’ll practice [Wednesday],” head coach Mike Vrabel said of Stevenson.
A much higher-profile injury from Sunday was suffered by Mack Hollins, who pulled up with a calf injury while lightly engaging with Bills safety Cole Bishop early in the third quarter in Buffalo. Hollins hopped to the sideline on one leg and was taken to the locker room shortly thereafter. He did not return.
“Sure,” Vrabel said Monday when asked if the team might explore adding a receiver, given the injury absences of Brown and potentially Hollins. “Anybody that can help us. We’ll go explore here shortly.”
Wide receiver was the Patriots’ deepest position throughout the summer, which is ultimately why the team felt comfortable trading Kayshon Boutte (551 yards, 6 TDs last year) to Houston in August. Yet losing Brown for a minimum of four weeks and now potentially losing Hollins for multiple weeks, the team figures to be in a tough spot for the short term.
On the one hand, Romeo Doubs is versatile enough to move into the “X” spot in the offense. That’s less than ideal, though, considering he and Maye finally established some rhythm, timing and chemistry together in the win in Buffalo.
Efton Chism is sure to get some more reps after his breakout game in Buffalo, but a receiving corps of Doubs (slightly out of position), Chism, DeMario Douglas and Kyle Williams is not one that will not stress opposing secondaries nearly as much as the unit the Patriots intended to roll out on a weekly basis this year.
Hollins may not have eye-catching numbers in terms of production, but there’s no doubt that he’s been a significant piece of the Patriots’ offense dating back to last year and he’s Drake Maye’s most trusted receiver. Sunday showed that Maye can adapt to playing without him, but the way Hollins utilizes his size and strength to haul in contested catches is a trait that can’t be replaced during his expected absence.
Ultimately, a significant challenge awaits Maye and — more significantly — Josh McDaniels to piece together a functioning offense despite the absence of some key parts. That’ll likely involve heavy involvement from the tight end spot with Hunter Henry and Eli Raridon (who briefly left Sunday’s game with an ankle issue, after missing the previous game with a thigh injury) while relying on Maye to somehow carry the load in the run game in addition to his efforts to try to utilize the current receiving corps in the best way possible.
Mixing, matching, and overcoming injuries has been a theme of the early season for the Patriots. How they navigate the next several weeks will have a lot to say about the ultimate success or failure of their season.
