What the Patriots Are Saying About Replacing Ty Montgomery in the Passing Game

“We just have to go out there and do our jobs. Each player, each individual, as an offense, as a team. Collectively, we just have to go out there and do our jobs. It’s unfortunate what happened to Ty, but everybody’s got a job to do,” Harris said.

Harris was then asked if his role would expand with Montgomery out of the lineup, and he said with a smile, “we’ll see on Sunday.”

Although the Patriots gave Harris more work in the passing game last week, there is growing optimism throughout the organization that Stevenson could be an impact pass-catcher.

Over the summer, Stevenson said that he worked hard on his skills in the passing game in the offseason so he could increase his usage by running routes out of the backfield.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has publicly praised the young running back for his development in the passing game in his second season, and Stevenson’s teammates notice his ability to make plays as a receiver in practice.

“Rhamondre’s done a really good job improving his pass game skills, starting with blitz pickup and protection. He’s got good hands, catching the ball’s never been an issue. It’s setting up defenders, recognizing coverages, when to sit down, when to break, depending on what the rest of the pattern is, how to maximize the distribution of the pattern,” Belichick said.

Adding to the momentum building for Stevenson’s role in the passing game, wide receiver Jakobi Meyers also offered a glowing review of the 2021 fourth-round pick.

“When he first got here, just in practice, I saw him catch a seam out of the backfield. That’s like a James White kind of play. But he’ll go out there and give you a dead leg, catch a seam, take one to the crib. He’s a really talented player,” said Meyers.

Ultimately, the coaching staff’s decision on who will replace Montgomery in the passing game will likely come down to who they trust the most in pass protection. Along with the optionality of the running back route tree Belichick described, younger players have taken their time getting on the field on passing downs because it’s challenging to grasp all the nuances of blitz pickup.

Rookie running back Pierre Strong, for example, was drafted in the fourth round last April, and many think Strong will eventually develop into a pass-catching back for New England. Similarly, practice squad running back J.J. Taylor tried to find a role as a receiving back over the last few seasons.

Strong was a healthy inactive for the season-opener, while Taylor remained on the practice squad. With Montgomery sidelined, either Strong or Taylor will likely be active on Sunday, and it’s worth noting that the rookie is dealing with a shoulder injury and was limited in the first two days of practice this week.

Replacing Montgomery has many layers, with a heavy workload already on Harris’s shoulder, but the trust factor for younger running backs in the passing game. From this perspective, Stevenson is the most dynamic option as a real threat out of the backfield as we’ve seen in his limited opportunities in the past.

We’ll see in Pittsburgh on Sunday if the second-year running back is ready to take on a complex role.