The Patriots are hoping to extend their winning streak to six games when they host the Atlanta Falcons at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

On Saturday, the Patriots elevated veteran RB D'Ernest Johnson from the practice squad for Week 9. After being released by the Cardinals from their practice squad on Oct. 28, New England quickly signed the seventh-year pro to its practice squad the following day. The 29-year-old spent time on Arizona and Baltimore's practice squads this season, appearing in one game as a standard elevation for the Cardinals in Week 7. Johnson is best known for standout performances with the Browns earlier in his career, rushing for over 100 yards twice, while tallying 99 rushing yards on 19 carries vs. the Patriots during the 2021 season.

With lead-back Rhamondre Stevenson (toe) ruled out, the Patriots are shorthanded at running back. By elevating Johnson, New England has second-rounder TreVeyon Henderson, Terrell Jennings, and Johnson at running back for Sunday's game vs. the Falcons. Along with Stevenson's recent toe injury, the Pats also lost RB Antonio Gibson to a season-ending knee injury in Week 5, so their running back depth is a bit thin. When asked on Friday, head coach Mike Vrabel didn't offer a return-to-play timeline on Stevenson.

An underrated aspect of Stevenson's game is his skill in pass protection, with Vrabel saying that Stevenson is the team's best pass-blocking back. Stevenson has been tasked with several different blocking assignments in his 55 pass-blocking snaps. He'll take on blitzers in a traditional sense, while New England also lines him up closer to the line of scrimmage in the A-Gap to block standup interior rushers, and he'll often chip the ends on his way out into the pattern as an aid to the offensive tackles. A lot goes into his role as a pass protector, both physically and mentally, adding to the ways the Patriots will need to replace their starting running back.

Rookie RB TreVeyon Henderson's abilities in pass protection were highly-regarded as a draft prospect, but the second-rounder has been up and down in that area as a pro. To his credit, Henderson is improving, with zero pressures allowed on three pass-blocking reps over the last two games. Henderson will likely step into the lead-back role as a runner and receiver, but Johnson could also have a role in the passing game.

The seventh-year pro has been used more as a third-down back recently. In Arizona, Johnson was active for one game, where he played 13 of his 14 snaps in the passing game on third down, and the one carry he had was in a two-minute drill at the end of the first half, another sub-package situation. In 2024, Johnson played 80% of his snaps in the passing game for the Jaguars. In short, the 29-year-old has been viewed as a receiving back by his last two NFL teams.

By chipping in on third down, Johnson can spell Henderson. The Patriots also have Jennings on the active roster to take some early-down carries if they want to spread out the workload. Stevenson leads the Patriots in touches (99) and played 61.8% of the offensive snaps in the first eight weeks. The hope is that Henderson will build on his breakout performance vs. the Browns (75 rushing yards on 10 carries) to be the lead-back this week, but the rookie can't play every offensive snap.

Johnson could also contribute as a returner with 33 career kickoff returns. Last week, the Patriots used Henderson and Jennings as their primary kick returners, but with Stevenson's injury, it might be too risky to have Henderson return kicks until the Pats lead-back is healthy. Johnson could pinch hit on kickoff returns alongside Jennings, freeing up Henderson to play his anticipated significant role on offense this week. The Patriots have also used undrafted rookie WR Efton Chism III on kick returns, but Chism III was a healthy scratch last week, so it might make more sense from a game-day roster standpoint for Johnson to step into that role.

Lastly, the Patriots didn't elevate any safeties from the practice squad after S Richie Grant got the nod last week to play a special teams role. New England traded S Kyle Dugger to the Steelers earlier this week, while signing rookie John Saunders Jr. to the 53-man roster from the Dolphins practice squad. Saunders Jr. only has two Patriots practices under his belt and has yet to play in an NFL game. Behind starters Jaylinn Hawkins and rookie Craig Woodson, the Patriots have Dell Pettus, Saunders Jr., and special-teamer Brenden Schooler as depth at safety.

With only one practice squad elevation this week, the Patriots roster is at 54 players (48-player maximum on game day). Stevenson has already been ruled out, so New England must declare five more players as game-day inactives 90 minutes before Sunday's 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Gillette Stadium.

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