New England Patriots Running Back Competition Heating Up

It’s always a tough thing to try and guess who could be a top running back on the New England Patriots as head coach Bill Belichick has always liked to share the rock around. Recently Benjarvus Green-Ellis has made a good fist of it and subsequently earned himself a nice free agent contract with the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason.

With Green-Ellis gone, many believed that Stevan Ridley would take his place as the lead back but when the Patriots held their public OTAs on Sunday it was Shane Vereen who was practicing with the first team. Yes, it’s May. Yes, this is only one practice. Yes, Bill Belichick is well known for playing games with the media and keeping us guessing. Sill, this is an indication that Vereen isn’t going to be forgotten as some pundits were suggesting.

Many Patriots fans despaired during last year’s NFL Draft when the team drafted both Vereen and Ridley – Vereen was a second round pick whilst Ridley was chosen in the third – but if there is one thing the Patriots rarely do it’s pay their running backs and so the two were likely drafted so “The Law Firm” as Green-Ellis has become known could be let go.

Both Vereen and Ridley are very talented runners and both displayed their talents in 2011 with Ridley winning the battle in the duo’s rookie year as Vereen was inconsistent. With that being said, both backs were drafted reasonably high and you can be certain Belichick has plans for each of them.

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