Shane Vereen will play today

New England Patriots standout running back Shane Vereen had an excellent performance on Thursday Night Football last week against the rival New York Jets, as he pounded out 43 yards on 11 carries against an elite run defense and thoroughly roasted the Jets in coverage. It seems like he always saves his best for the Jets, as Vereen caught two touchdown passes with five receptions for 71 yards in total, including an amazing 49-yard TD.

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There were some doubts as to whether or not Vereen would be able to suit up today to face his brother and Chicago Bears rookie safety Brock Vereen, as the Cal product missed practice on Friday with an illness. This made him a bit of a toss-up, though most people still expected him to play. The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that Vereen will play today, so you can safely insert him into your starting lineup, unless if you have better options. It, of course, does pay to monitor all updates regarding Vereen’s status.

The Patriots need their explosive back more than ever with Stevan Ridley done for the year, but the biggest issue is trying to limit his snaps as a rusher while still getting enough production on the ground as a team. They have to hope that someone like Brandon Bolden, James White, or Jonas Gray can play at a solid level, otherwise Vereen could be forced to do too much. He doesn’t fit the build of an every-down back and has a bit of an injury history, and those carries can take away from his main value as a huge pass-catching weapon and mis-match maker.