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    Is Rhamondre Stevenson Playing Today vs. Raiders? Fantasy Implications of his Injury Status

    Is Rhamondre Stevenson playing in Week 15, and what is the fantasy outlook for the Patriots' backfield this week against the Raiders?

    The question of whether Rhamondre Stevenson is playing in Week 15 has been lingering all week as he deals with an ankle issue. With the fantasy football playoffs beginning this week, his status will be something that managers are anxiously looking for on Sunday. Let’s look at the most recent updates regarding Stevenson’s Week 15 status and the fantasy impact of that status.

    Update: Rhamondre Stevenson is active for Week 15.

    Is Rhamondre Stevenson Playing Today?

    Over the last 48 hours or so, the signs that Stevenson will be playing in Week 15 have started to stack up. Firstly, he worked back into practice on Friday on a limited basis to be listed as questionable. Then, the Patriots chose not to elevate J.J. Taylor from the practice squad on Saturday, despite ruling Damien Harris out a few hours earlier.

    All of that made it no surprise when NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday morning that Stevenson has a “good chance” to play despite his ankle issue. Rapoport did add that a pre-game workout would determine the “fate” of Stevenson in Week 15, but it would be a surprise if he was inactive and left the Patriots with just two rookie backs to carry the load this week.

    With Harris ruled out, the Patriots depth chart has the risk of looking very thin if Stevenson cannot go. The only other two active backs on the roster right now are rookie RBs Pierre Strong Jr. and Kevin Harris. For their careers, Strong has just six rushing attempts and two targets, while Harris has just 12 rushing attempts.

    Therefore, it would be a surprise if the Patriots went into Week 15 with the two rookies as their only options. That would suggest they feel fairly confident that Stevenson can be active and play a reasonably significant role this week.

    Fantasy Outlook for Stevenson, Pierre Strong Jr., and Kevin Harris

    The matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders this week is intriguing for the Patriots’ backfield. In the last four weeks, the Raiders have allowed an average of 21.28 fantasy points to opposing RBs. However, when you look at the four weeks game by game, the outputs look very different.

    In Weeks 11 and 12, the Raiders allowed 25.3 and 31.2 fantasy points to RBs, respectively. Then in Weeks 13 and 14, they allowed just 13.7 and 14.9 fantasy points, respectively. Shutting down Cam Akers and Kyren Williams last week on a short week was one thing, but limiting Austin Ekeler and the Chargers backfield to under 14 fantasy points is impressive.

    When you look back over the last four weeks, the Raiders have allowed an average of just 75.5 rushing yards per game. After allowing over 100 rushing yards in each of the previous five games, they have not allowed one in that time. However, RBs have been able to find fantasy value either in the passing game or by finding the end zone — the Raiders have allowed four rushing touchdowns in the last three weeks.

    If Stevenson can get on the field, there is certainly the potential for him to have success. It would be extremely hard to bench a player who has returned double-digit fantasy scores in 10 of the last 11 games, with only the injury last week breaking that run of games. Therefore, if Stevenson plays, he is an option that fantasy managers should look to start this week.

    In Underdog Fantasy Best Ball drafts, this injury situation for Stevenson may knock down his value a touch. Therefore, he could be a player to target at that value. There is always the risk that he could leave the game early or be limited in his usage, but the upside with Stevenson is always nice to have.

    In the event that Stevenson is a surprise inactive, then the intrigue for fantasy managers switches to the rookie duo of Strong and Harris. We saw both take snaps last week, with Harris having eight carries to five for Strong. Strong supplemented that usage with two receptions from two targets.

    While both found the end zone, Strong had the better week, with 70 rushing yards and another 20 on the ground. The usage of Strong in the passing game makes him slightly more intriguing this week.

    We only have a one-game sample size for each of them, so it is hard to make a definitive statement. However, Strong is the player that intrigued me the most in the draft process and is the one that looked the most explosive last week.

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