Shane Vereen's Updated Fantasy Outlook After Stevan Ridley's Injury

Stevan Ridley left Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills with a knee injury. Although Shane Vereen could not capitalize, he remains the New England Patriots' top alternative in the backfield.    

ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss described the play where Ridley went down during the fourth quarter:

The team's official Twitter page reported that he would not return:

One would think that would mean a full workload for Vereen, but have you met Bill Belichick? He mostly stuck with a revitalized passing game, but Brandon Bolden received more carries than Vereen, who gained seven yards on six touches.

Player	Rushes	Rush YDs	YPC	Rec.	Rec. YDs	Targets
Stevan Ridley	10	23	2.3	1	6	1
Shane Vereen	5	4	0.8	1	3	3
Brandon Bolden	6	10	1.7	0	0	0

Don't be too alarmed by that small sampling. Only the Seattle Seahawks surrendered fewer rushing yards per game than Buffalo through the first five weeks, so it made sense for New England to abandon the ground game despite holding a lead.   

Vereen manufactures much of his fantasy value in the receiving game, but he averaged 4.7 yards per carry last season in limited work. It might be time to see what he can do with a few more handoffs.

Also keep an eye on Bolden, and even rookie James White. Thursday night's game against the New York Jets presents another tough rushing defense to avoid, so use the week to scout the situation.