Patriots sign running back Kenneth Farrow to their practice squad in light of Rex Burkhead’s concussion

While the New England Patriots have one of the NFL’s deepest rosters, the depth at two of their offensive skill positions is lighter than is ideal. While the revolving door at wide receiver has been well documented over the last six months, it now appears as if the running back spot joins it on the list of offensive question marks: Jeremy Hill tore his ACL on Sunday, and now Rex Burkhead is listed on the injury report as well.

The second-year Patriot is dealing with a concussion and missed Wednesday’s practice because of it. His availability for the upcoming game against the Jacksonville Jaguars is yet to be determined, but with the team having only two healthy backs on its 53-man roster at the moment – James White and recent pickup Kenjon Barner; Sony Michel is still limited because of a knee injury – it apparently is looking to add some emergency depth.

Enter Kenneth Farrow, who had been with the Patriots for one week before getting released during early-September’s cutdowns. New England brought him back yesterday to replace wide receiver Jace Billingsley on the practice squad and to have an additional layer of depth in the offensive backfield – one that serves only emergency purposes but is important to have nevertheless.

After a productive career at Houston, Kenneth Farrow went undrafted in 2016. The then-San Diego Chargers picked him up as a free agent, and he was able to make the team as a reserve back. Injuries pushed Farrow up the depth chart and led to the versatile back appearing in 13 of the Chargers’ games during his rookie year. Before seeing his season end with a shoulder injury in December, he amassed 73 touches for 262 yards.

The 5’9, 220 lbs back was unable to bounce back from the injury in 2017 and spent all of it on injured reserve as well. In April, the Chargers elected to release Farrow and he remained on the open market until New England signed him on August 27. Before getting waived on cutdown day, the 25-year old appeared in one preseason contest and registered five rushes for 24 yards while playing 16 offensive snaps.