The start of the NFL season is creeping closer, and teams have just started their training camps ahead of August's preseason matches.
Many teams will be happy with the crop of players they already have, while others are still looking at the free agent market to bolster their rosters.
One of those still on the hunt for players is the New England Patriots, who have invited veteran runnings backs to training to get a closer look.
Last season the Patriots' running game was split fairly evenly between Rhamondre Stevenson and Damien Harris, but with the latter having moved to Buffalo Bills this offseason the Patriots feel they are a little thin at the position.
Behind Stevenson on the depth chart sit Pierre Strong Jr, Ty Montgomery and Kevin Harris who totalled just 30 carries between them in the 2022 season.
Stevenson proved himself to be a very capable running back in 2022, rushing for over 1,000 yards on 210 carries, but three names are being linked with the Patriots who would take work away from him in 2023.
Dalvin Cook
Dalvin Cook has been linked with plenty of teams since being made a free agent, and he remains one of the most talented players on the market, so it is no surprise the Patriots are linked with him.
Teams around the NFL are reluctant to give big sums of money to the running back position, which may be a sticking point between New England and Cook.
Four time Pro Bowler Cook was released by the Minnesota Vikings earlier this year after six seasons with the franchise.
In 2022 he rushed for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns. However the Vikings believed he had lost a step so have opted to put their faith in Alexander Mattison for 2023.
While Cook may be the most talented of the running backs linked with the Patriots, he was not in attendance at their training camp unlike others.
Leonard Fournette
Super Bowl LV winner Leonard Fournette was invited to training camp by the Patriots as they consider options other than Cook.
The 28-year-old has spent the last three seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after starting his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars who drafted him in the first round back in 2017.
Unlike Cook - or Stevenson - the former Bucs running back has not topped 1,000 rushing yards in a season since 2019 with the Jaguars.
In 2022, Fournette also saw heavy compeition for snaps from rookie Rashaad White, who showed enough to take work away from the veteran.
If Fournette can recapture his form from the Buccaneers' postseason run to Super Bowl glory then Stevenson will have serious competition at running back, but Fournette remains a less inspiring potential signing than Cook.
Darrell Henderson Jr.
The third running back being considered by the Patriots is former Los Angeles Rams rusher Darrell Henderson Jr.
After topping 600 yards and five touchdowns in 2020 and 2021 as the Rams' back-up running back, Henderson was waived midway through the 2022 season.
He was claimed off waivers by the Jacksonville Jaguars a day later but could not keep his place as he waived for a second time just two weeks later without having played a snap.
Henderson is a Super Bowl winner, having had four carries and three receptions in the Rams' Super Bowl LVI win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Like Fournette, Henderson has been training with the Patriots as he hopes to prove once again that he is an NFL calibre running back.
DAZN will deliver the NFL Game Pass International service from the 2023 season across the world (except the U.S. and China), find out more here.