The New England Patriots almost had their offseason ruined by a comedian. Running back Rhamondre Stevenson got tangled up with Matt Rife in a charity softball game on Sunday, and for a brief moment, every Patriots fan watching forgot how to breathe.
The play happened during Drake Maye’s charity event at Polar Park in Worcester. Stevenson was playing second base. Rife was caught in a rundown between bases and made a confused dash toward second, where he collided directly with Stevenson’s legs. The Patriots running back went down hard.
For a few seconds, the worst-case scenario was very much in play. Then Stevenson got up. He shook it off, gathered himself, and the night moved on. Patriots fans everywhere were able to start breathing again.
This Could Have Been a Disaster
An offseason charity event is the last place a starting NFL running back should get hurt. Stevenson is the lead back for a Patriots team coming off a Super Bowl runner-up finish, and New England is depending on him to anchor an offense that finally has a real identity under Drake Maye.
The Patriots have had a rough offseason headline-wise, including the situation surrounding Mike Vrabel that has been ongoing for weeks. Losing Stevenson to a freak charity-game injury would have been the kind of story that defines a franchise’s bad luck for an entire calendar year.
Instead, the only damage is the viral video of the play, which is going to make the rounds for the next 48 hours. Rife handled it well after the fact. Stevenson was a good sport about it. The Patriots will quietly thank their guardian angels and move on.
Stevenson Is Still the Guy in New England
Even with TreVeyon Henderson in the building, Stevenson is expected to start. The 28-year-old has 3,669 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns in five NFL seasons, averaging steady production through 70 games. Henderson will get touches, but Stevenson is the workhorse.
New England’s Super Bowl run last season changed the expectations for this team. The Patriots are no longer hoping to compete. They are expected to. Defending an AFC title is brutal work, and the margin for error is razor thin.
You cannot afford to lose your bell-cow back in May because a stand-up comic ran the wrong direction in a rundown. Thankfully, the Patriots did not.
Stevenson walked away. The Patriots dodged a real one. And the lesson here might be that NFL stars probably should not be playing competitive softball against comedians in the middle of the offseason. Worth the laugh? Maybe. Worth a torn ACL? Never.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
