The Patriots have until 4:00 on Monday afternoon to decide whether or not they want to activate running back Shane Vereen from injured reserve in time to play against the Panthers.
Vereen, who was recovering from a broken wrist, has been practicing and the expectation that he’d be returning to the lineup grew late last week when the Patriots cleared a roster spot by releasing wide receiver LaQuan Williams. Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Vereen will be activated for Monday night’s game and that the Patriots plan to ease him back into the lineup.
Before the start of the season, there was a lot of talk about an expanded role for Vereen as a receiver and his seven catches in Week One showed his ability to make an impact in that area. He also ran for 101 yards in that game after Stevan Ridley was benched for fumbling.
Ridley, Brandon Bolden and LeGarrette Blount have all been getting work in the backfield with Vereen out of the lineup, but there may not be enough work to go around once Vereen’s back into the swing of things.
UPDATE 5:05 p.m. ET: The Patriots have activated Vereen and added him to the roster for Monday night’s game.