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FOXBORO - Sammy Morris is facing enough of a challenge without his team adding another layer of difficulty to it.

The veteran running back, whose eighth NFL season started brilliantly but was cut short after six games by an extremely rare injury, would have had enough on his mind in his quest to return to action if the Patriots hadn't stoked up the competition at his position with the addition of ex-Raider LaMont Jordan this past weekend.

But as one might expect from an eight-year pro, Morris is blocking out all of the distractions and focusing solely upon what he needs to do to get himself back onto the field, where he hasn't been since last Oct. 14 at Texas Stadium.

"Regardless of my role, that was my first time of being on injured reserve, and that in itself was tough enough," said Morris, who spent four years with the Bills and three with the Dolphins before coming to the Patriots as a free agent last season. "Last year, it was difficult. To get a chance to be involved and being called upon to do some things, and having to miss that, was tough."

Initially brought in to be a veteran backup to Laurence Maroney, Morris was actually getting a good number of snaps in his first three games and being productive when called upon. Then when Maroney suffered an ankle injury, Morris got the call at Cincinnati and at home against Cleveland, and responded with back-to-back 100-yard games.

Ten carries into the Dallas game, however, Morris suffered a very rare separation of the sternum and clavicle. It would end his season with 384 yards on 85 carries (4.5-yard average) and three touchdowns, and six catches for 35 yards - promising numbers that could have been very valuable to the Patriots over the long run of a full season had be been healthy.

Morris' rehabilitation was long and painful, given the very sensitive area that was injured. But he persevered and began feeling normal not long after the Patriots' season ended in Super Bowl XLII.

"I was going slow and taking it easy as to how I would react to it," he said of the rehabilitation process. "But it hasn't bothered me since March. I've been lifting weights and getting pretty physical."

Now, he said, the time has come to give his chest the test. But he was emphatic in pointing out that he doesn't feel that his eagerness to play has anything to do with the reassurance he might feel once he takes a full-speed hit.

"I am kind of eager for an opportunity to unload, but not necessarily just to see how it holds up," he said. "I haven't second-guessed myself in terms of lifting weights or contact or anything. I'm eager to get going and get started, but not in the sense to see how it holds up.

"I may just be silly or naïve, but I feel like I'm ready to go.," he said. I don't second-guess myself with any kind of physical contact or anything."

No doubt, the time off from football was frustrating for Morris. Not only were the Patriots heading for sports immortality with a 16-0 regular-season record, Morris was also on track toward his best statistical season. More frustrating than not being able to share in those accomplishments, he said, was just the simple separation from the daily activities that define playing in the NFL.

"You start working out in March and you kind of prepare yourself for a long season, and to have it cut short is difficult," he said. "I wouldn't think that 16-0 or 0-16 would make any difference in that, it's still the fact that an injury-shortened season is kind of tough."

As short as Morris' 2007 season was, he still added to the productivity of an underrated running attack that still added 1,849 yards to the Patriots' 6,580 total output. Maroney led with 835 yards, followed by Morris' 384, Kevin Faulk's 265 and Heath Evans' 121 - not earth-shattering numbers, but nowhere near as underproductive as one might think, as compared to the wildly successful passing game of the '07 Patriots. "We're not really concerned with what people are noticing," Morris said. "We're not really concerned with numbers per se, either. We're concerned with doing our part to help win, and fortunately, we were doing that at the start. We don't get caught up in who's getting the hoopla or who's getting the most coverage. We're just worried about this team and getting the wins.

"Whether Laurence has to run 20 times a game or I have to run 20, or whatever, if we have to throw the ball 50 times a game again, we're concerned about winning and who gets the glory," he said.

The addition of Jordan, who carried 272 times for 1,025 yards and caught 70 passes for 563 yards in 2005, his best season for Oakland, certainly raises questions about the future of the current roster. But it's not out of the realm of possibility that Maroney, Morris and Jordan could co-exist on the same roster because when Morris was injured last year, Maroney was still recovering from his own injury and the Patriots were caught in a shorthanded situation.

Morris believes that no matter what happens in the weeks to come, the Patriots have the potential to put a quality rushing attack on the field.

"I think we've got the potential to do a lot of good things," he said. "We've got a lot of versatility in all our backs, and that includes Heath and Kyle (Eckel). They're both big guys who are very versatile and can play special teams as well.

"We've got a lot of talent back there, but at the same time, I think we've got a lot of character, too," he said.

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com. Read Farinella's blog, "Blogging Fearlessly," at thesunchronicle.com/sports.