Bill Belichick has said that Shane Vereen has developed as a player during the off-season.

The New England Patriots running back recorded 11 rushing yards, 62 receiving yards and scored a touchdown during the team's pre-season schedule.

Speaking at a press conference, the head coach said: "Shane has had a good spring and a good camp. He's been relatively healthy, he's gotten a lot of snaps out there on all three downs, all four downs really, the kicking game and third down and first and second down offensively as well.

"I think he's continued to grow and develop as a player, both in an understanding and working on it his run reads, his route running technique, blitz pickup, various things in the kicking game.

"He's continued to improve and I think he's had a good camp here, good pre-season. I think he's ready to go in the season. [We'll] see how it all turns out, but I think his preparation has been good."

Vereen rushed for 251 yards from 62 carries, scoring three touchdowns last year.