Patriots running back Damien Harris reportedly expected to play against Bills

The New England Patriots entered the weekend with eight players listed as questionable on their injury report. Most of them are expected to suit up against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday — including running back Damien Harris: according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Harris “should be good to go” for the pivotal AFC East battle.

The Patriots’ top running back and leader in carries (164), rushing yards (754) and touchdowns (9), Harris has not appeared in a game since hurting his hamstring in the first matchup with the Bills on December 6. He left the game in the late second quarter because of the issue before returning in the early third.

However, he came up limping after a 22-yard run a short time later and did not return. Harris subsequently missed New England’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15.

Getting Harris back is good news for a Patriots offense that saw fellow running back Rhamondre Stevenson move to the Covid-19 reserve list on Friday. With Stevenson unavailable, Harris’ presence becomes even more valuable — especially given that Brandon Bolden is also listed as questionable (knee) and that depth option J.J. Taylor returned off the Coronavirus list just earlier this week.

The writing was on the wall that Harris would be good to go against the Bills, though. New England, after all, decided not to elevate running back Devine Ozigbo from the practice squad to offer additional depth.

The game between the Patriots and Bills is set for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff.