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Now that Woodhead is gone, the task of replacing him falls to Shane Vereen, who is the ideal candidate to replace Woodhead. Although he is not as consistent of a rusher as Woodhead is, Vereen is more explosive and has plenty of upside. Both are just as good pass-catchers as each other, but the big difference is that Woodhead was a significantly better pass blocker- let’s hope Vereen can improve in that facet of his game. Vereen’s task is a tall one, but he is poised for a breakout year in his third season. However, Vereen will need to remain healthy and take the next step in his game. I’m confident he will do so, and I can almost guarantee that you’ll see Vereen playing a big role in the Patriots offense next season. I mean, it’s not often that you find a back with the upside, pass-catching ability, and explosiveness that Vereen has. He’ll never be more than a No. 2 back, but he has a chance to be a truly game-changing No. 2 for the Patriots a la Woodhead if all goes well.

Vereen has been speaking frequently to the media in recent days, and he talked about the tall order of trying to replace Danny Woodhead. Here is what he said, via WEEI, “It’s going to be hard to replace a guy like Woody. He had a lot of experience. He had a lot of knowledge. He’s a smart player. His role was pretty key to the team. I learned a lot from him. You can’t really replace him. All you can do is move on and hope to get better from there.”

“You can’t really replace him.” That quote stands out to me, and it’s great to hear that Vereen learned plenty from Woodhead. The first step in replacing Woodhead is learning from him, and the experience and intelligence that Vereen spoke highly of. We tend to forget that Woodhead is an incredibly smart player, and Vereen also fits the same mold as a guy who played for the California Golden Bears in college. Vereen has a tough task ahead of him, but it is a job that he has a good chance of filling out given his skill-set and outlook.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

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It was initially reported that the New England Patriots signed both Rutgers Scarlet Knights rookie Duron Harmon and Steve Beauharnais to four-year deals, but they only signed the third-round safety to a contract. It was initially reported that the Patriots signed Beauharnais, and the deal was rumored to be for four years and at $2.2 million. However, that report has since been rescinded, a Beauharnais’s agent Mook Williams tweeted out that his client has not signed a deal with the Patriots and is currently focused on exams at Rutgers.

Although I can’t see the possibility of the New England Patriots cutting wide receiver Julian Edelman, both ESPN Boston and the Boston Herald have stated that they don’t view Edelman as a lock to make the roster. Anything is possible these days, and Edelman is coming off of a setback and is on a one-year deal, but I just don’t see the Patriots cutting ties with Edelman. He’s going in as the team’s No. 3 wide receiver behind Danny Amendola and Aaron Dobson, and it would take huge efforts from Josh Boyce and Donald Jones to have Edelman axed off the island. He may not be a total lock, but it’s almost impossible to envision the improving wide receiver getting cut by the Patriots. Edelman showed us a lot last season with improved speed before breaking his foot, and the only question for Edelman at this point is his health. On a cheap, one-year deal with plenty to prove, I don’t see Edelman getting his walking papers. Then again, “lock” is a strong word. What do you guys think?

Shane Vereen is the ideal replacement for Danny Woodhead in this offense, even if losing Woodhead was clearly not ideal for the Patriots. The San Diego Chargers paid him a lot and desperately needed a guy like Woodhead, whereas the Patriots could afford not to pay too much due to the presence of a rising third-year running back in Vereen. ESPN Boston wrote yesterday that Vereen is in-line for Woodhead’s role, and it would be extremely difficult to argue against that point. While Woodhead was the better player and much better pass blocker, Vereen offers plenty of upside and explosiveness. I mean, just look at how he played when Woodhead went down in the AFC Divisional game against the Houston Texans, and I would also highly recommend re-watching Vereen’s touchdown catch against the New York Jets on Thanksgiving Day.

Vereen spoke quite a bit to the media yesterday and delivered this nugget, ”I’d say that I’m approaching this season a little bit differently than I did last season. Just with a mindset of my role on the team.”

Chalk up Vereen as a player who is poised for a breakout year in a bigger role on the Patriots offense. I wonder how much he has developed as a rusher, because consistency on the ground will be the key for Vereen.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

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Vereen said, “Back in California, I didn’t really watch hockey all that much. A couple of my friends played, but I didn’t make time to watch it. But ever since I moved out here, I have a newfound respect for it. You can tell this city loves hockey, and I love it, too, now, so I’m rooting them on.”

The California native starred for the California Golden Bears in college, but he genuinely loves Boston and has seemingly embraced the sports teams and culture of the city. I said that not only because he is now a Bruins fan (and hockey fan, at that), but also because of the Facebook updates I’ve read from him. He seems to enjoy how Bostonians use the word “wicked” instead of “really” or “very”, and it comes off like Vereen has fallen in love with the city of Boston. I could be wrong, but that’s just my hunch. And besides, how could you not fall in love with Boston?

Vereen also spoke about the nail-biter of a game that ended up in incredible defeat to keep Boston alive instead of a disheartening loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs (it would have been a sad day if the Bruins lost to the Leafs, but credit to the Leafs for making it such a great series), ”I was very disheartened when they went down 4-1. But there was still time left, and there’s one thing we learned in football is that the game is not over until it’s over. They fought back. I thought it was an incredible game.”

Yup, that sounds like a guy who loves hockey and the Boston Bruins.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.