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Update: It’s official, Stevenson is inactive and Taylor is active along with Damien Harris and James White. Taylor’s workload is completely unknown, but he should at least get his chances and could be in line for return work as well, which he excelled at in preseason.
Official inactives won’t come out for another 30 minutes, but all indications are that J.J. Taylor will suit up this week while Rhamondre Stevenson will be a healthy scratch. Piecing together these two tweets from New England Patriots beat writers likely tells us all we need to know:
J.J. Taylor is out for an early look at the field. The second-year RB was inactive last week, but after fumbles by Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson, this could be an indication he will be on the game-day roster against the Jets. pic.twitter.com/bwpLPxTqO3
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) September 19, 2021
RB Rhamondre Stevenson, TE Devin Asiasi, OLB Ronnie Perkins and CB Shaun Wade going through a pre-game workout with the strength and conditioning staff, which is often what players who are inactive do.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) September 19, 2021
Official inactives must be declared by 11:30a. pic.twitter.com/KZQ8H6Pz6b
Both Stevenson and Damien Harris had fumbles last week, but the rookie will move into the doghouse, as Harris is more important and likely more trusted due to his place on the depth chart and time in the league. But this could be a big opportunity for Taylor, who looked great this preseason.
Taylor isn’t the biggest back, but Bill Belichick does trust him with carries as well as a receiver. Both Taylor and Harris get a good matchup with the Jets, who Belichick has been partial to using the run instead of pass against in recent years.
Harris is a must start while Taylor has some sleeper appeal in fantasy football or in your DFS lineups.