Here's a look at where some of the Patriots' top roster battles stand at the moment.

No. 1 running back: Stevan Ridley looked to have a stranglehold on this spot for much of camp before Shane Vereen woke up from a dead camp in the Saints game. But Vereen really didn't get his chance until Ridley fumbled in practice a few days later. Now Ridley could be out for a little while after suffering a hamstring injury. It's Vereen's turn to take the job.

No. 1 center: This one is a little more cloudy because a potential return of Brian Waters to RG would affect Dan Connolly, who earned the starting center job last season after Dan Koppen was out for the season. Connolly hasn't been at center since the early stages of camp. He is expected to return there when/if Waters reports. It looked like Ryan Wendell had this job after a slow start because Koppen was terrible the first two weeks. But the wily veteran has come on in the past week and is very much alive.

Last WR spots: There were three players with definite spots locked down, Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd and Matthew Slater. Jabar Gaffney was a near-lock. Beyond that, the remaining two or three spots were up for grabs. Julian Edelman looks like he has one spot nailed down. He's had a terrific camp. That leaves Donte' Stallworth, Deion Branch and Jeremy Ebert for one, maybe two spots. Stallworth had a great start to camp but a case of the drops has put him on the bubble. Right now we would rank them Branch and then Stallworth/Ebert.

Follow the Patriots and Greg Bedard on Twitter @CBSSportsNFLNE