The Boston Globe suggests that the Patriots' addition of LeGarrette Blount is more about adding depth -- both short-term and for 2015 -- than it is about any potential plans to replace Gray as the team's power back.

The Boston Globe suggests that the Patriots' addition of LeGarrette Blount is more about adding depth -- both short-term and for 2015 -- than it is about any potential plans to replace Gray as the team's power back.

Analysis:

As ESPN's Mike Reiss notes, the Patriots "are known to ride the hot hand," and Gray is, after all, coming off a 201-yard, four-touchdown effort against the Colts this past Sunday. That said, based on this week's matchup, Gray figures to find both yards and TDs harder to come by this weekend, with the Patriots facing a Detroit defense that is giving up a league-low average of 68.8 rushing yards per game to date. Regardless of whether or not Blount is in uniform Sunday, we'd expect Gray to see plenty of Week 12 action, though it's not hard to imagine a scenario in which the flow of the game leads to Shane Vereen seeing a more prominent role than he saw in the team's Week 11 backfield.