Stevan Ridley Unlikely To Reclaim Lead Role With The Patriots?

ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss believes that Patriots RB Stevan Ridley‘s days as the first-string running back are “probably over” in New England.

It’s worth mentioning that this is just Reiss’ “gut feeling,” but it’s certainly a possibility considering that Ridley was a healthy inactive for the team’s Week 13 game. In his past two appearances, Ridley has fumbled twice, which led the Patriots to employ a running-by-committee approach this past weekend.

Ridley, 24, has another year left on his contract, but it appears as though the Patriots will try to mitigate his fumbling issues by getting Shane Vereen, Brandon Bolden and LeGarrette Blount their touches over the remainder of the season.

It’s too early to completely right off Ridley given that does have 4.8 yards per carry and seven touchdowns this season. A number of running backs have managed to overcome fumbling issues including Adrian Peterson and Tiki Barber, so we’ll have to see how things go in the coming weeks.