A benching during the New England Patriots' game against the Buffalo Bills led many to believe Stevan Ridley's days as the starting running back were over. After fumbling the ball twice in the first half, the back was benched in favor of Shane Vereen. He proceeded to rush for over 100 yards. However, Ridley is back as the No. 1 guy after a wrist injury suffered by Vereen.
The Patriots have officially placed Vereen on injured reserve with designation to return after he hurt his wrist during the game. The running back broke a small bone and will now be out for at least eight weeks. Vereen had put up 159 total yards of offense, something the Patriots will miss. The team is showing no signs of dipping into the free agent pool, instead satisfied giving Ridley another chance.
Head coach Bill Belichick told reporters that Ridley must be mentally and physically ready to play against the New York Jets on Thursday. The benching on Sunday will play no factor into whether or not he starts in Week 2.
"I talked to Stevan," Belichick said, via the Boston Globe. "Look, every player has the same responsibilities every week. Be ready to play, be ready to go. That's their job. They can't control coaches decisions. Coaches decisions are coaches decisions. They control their preparation and they control their performance when they're in the game. That's what a player's job is. That's always what it has been for everybody."
Ridley told reporters that he is not pouting or angry over the early benching. He respects Belichick's decision and said that if he were the coach he would have benched himself too. Now with Vereen out, it is an easy decision to start Ridley once again. Behind him, LeGarrette Blount, Brandon Bolden and Leon Washington will back Ridley up on the depth chart.
The injury bug is taking its toll on New England. Just recently, top wide receiver Danny Amendola is considered to be out for the Thursday night game. He has been limited with injuries since before the season started. Tight end Rob Gronkowski is still not healthy either. Even with all of injuries, quarterback Tom Brady is not concerned about his team's future.
"We've got a lot of good players in the locker room," Brady said. "So when people are injured, that's why you have a deep roster, guys that you've got confidence in, that you've gained trust in. I certainly have that at the skill position. So we've got a lot of good running backs and lot of good receivers. We're trying to do the best we can this week to go out and win a very challenging game against a very good team."