FOXBORO — One of the few players absent from the Patriots’ first open OTA on Tuesday was veteran running back Rhamondre Stevenson.

ESPN’s Mike Reiss on Sunday reported Stevenson was away from the team for personal reasons following the death of his father, Robert, in March. Stevenson also lost one of his childhood friends last season, per Reiss’ report.

OTAs are voluntary for players, and Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said he’s remained in contact with Stevenson during his absence.

“We’re extremely excited to have him with us,” Vrabel said before Tuesday’s practice. “I’ve been in constant communication with him. Obviously, our thoughts and prayers (are) with him and his family as they heal and they grieve. I want to be a part of that to help them and get to know him. I met him early on and then he went back, and now those conversations have just been over the telephone.”

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Stevenson averaged a career-low 3.9 yards per carry and set a career high with seven fumbles last season while playing behind one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines. Vrabel expects the 27-year-old to play a major role this season.

“When you start to evaluate this season and you watch the effort that he played with when he didn’t have the football, he played extremely fast without the football,” Vrabel said. “His ability to step up and protect is taking care of a teammate. It’s protecting the guy with the ball. He did that on numerous occasions. You always saw him downfield when he didn’t have the ball. So, he’s going to be a large part of what we do, and we’ll just have to determine where he’s at when he’s back here.”

Returning veteran Antonio Gibson and second-round draft pick TreVeyon Henderson were the top options Tuesday in Stevenson’s absence, with undrafted rookie Lan Larison also seeing some prominent reps. Second-year pro Terrell Jennings and newly signed veteran Trayveon Williams round out New England’s running back depth chart.

Wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins, offensive lineman Sidy Sow and rookie defensive tackle Joshua Farmer also did not participate in Tuesday’s OTA, though Hollins was present in sweats.