FOXBORO — Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson was among four players absent at Wednesday’s practice, the team’s first ahead of this weekend’s showdown with Houston.
Stevenson and safeties Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers were missing from the active roster, while tight end Jack Westover was the lone player absent on the practice squad. Stevenson suffered what he described as a calf injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to Miami, a game Dugger missed with a hurt ankle. Stevenson returned to the field after missing a few plays and didn’t expect to miss any game action moving forward.
“I just felt a helmet right into my leg, right into my calf, really, it what it was,” he said after Sunday’s loss to Miami. “I just had to make sure I was good. And I was. I felt all right to get back out there.”
Peppers was placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt list on Wednesday, which prohibits him from practicing or playing in games. The 29-year-old was not at the facility Wednesday, per coach Jerod Mayo. Peppers’ absence stems from his arrest over the weekend that led to assault and drug charges, to which he pleaded not guilty Monday in Quincy District Court.
The Patriots also fielded a new player wearing No. 83 at practice. They will release their first injury report of the week Wednesday evening.
