FOXBOROUGH – Rhamondre Stevenson is close to reaching a big milestone mark for any running back, especially in this day and age.

The New England Patriots' second-year running back is at 986 rushing yards for the season, meaning he's only 14 yards short of 1,000. Stevenson's actually been within striking range of the mark over the last few weeks, but he's mustered up just 72 rushing yards in the Patriots' last two games.

So, Stevenson only has one week remaining to reach the threshold. Yet, he didn't even know that he was so close until Friday during the Patriots' final practice of the regular season.

“I don’t really think too much about it, but actually one of my linemen came up to me today and told me how far I was away and things like that,” Stevenson said. “It would be a great accomplishment I think for me and just for the team, the offensive line. Just for all of us. Rushing for 1,000 yards in the NFL, I mean, I would call that an accomplishment. So yeah, that would be nice to get.”

Stevenson later said that it was right guard Michael Onwenu that told him he was close to hitting 1,000 rushing yards on the season. Onwenu told MassLive's Mark Daniels later in the day that he's got Stevenson's back in trying to make sure he reaches that mark.

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Part of the reason why Stevenson is likely close to the 1,000-yard mark is due to the opportunity created with Damien Harris being hurt for much of the season. The fourth-year running back missed six games and left early in two other games this season, making Stevenson the Patriots' sole running back on multiple occasions this season.

Harris returned to action in the Patriots' Week 17 win after missing four games due to a thigh injury. Stevenson was happy to see him back.

“Having Damien, not even just in the game, but in practice, in the meeting room, it's very helpful for me and all the other backs in the room,” Stevenson said. “Another helping hand and he works very hard. He goes out there ready to play. He's ready to make a play. He's just helped me out tremendously, not only on Sundays.”

“He brings that energy, that juice to us,” Stevenson added. “He makes us want to play that much harder.”