Editor’s Note:\u00a0With the beginning of NFL free agency looming on March 11, our Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran is resetting each Patriots position by assessing their 2025 performance, laying out their 2026 contract statuses, and ranking their offseason priority on a scale of 1 to 5 when it comes to potential upgrades.<\/p>\n
We’ve already hit on quarterbacks<\/a>, wide receivers<\/a> and tight ends<\/a>. Today’s installment: running backs.<\/p>\n This here\u2019s a story about running backs. Not the Patriots’ rushing attack. Just the running backs. I mention that because — when you factor in the 103 carries and 450 yards contributed by quarterback Drake Maye in 2025 \u2013 the Patriots’ rushing attack was a top-six group, averaging 128.9 yards per game.<\/p>\n All told, the Patriots ran 494 times for 2,191 yards (4.4 average) and 22 touchdowns.<\/p>\n As for the Patriots top two running backs, TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson? They ran 310 times for 1,514 yards (4.9 per carry) and 16 touchdowns. <\/p>\n The Patriots’ running back room is \u2026 good. Not great. Not very good. But acceptable for a playoff-level team.<\/p>\n The 28-year-old Stevenson, who\u2019s been a fumble machine at points in his career, went into overdrive early in the season. His two fumbles against the Steelers<\/a> probably cost the Patriots that Week 3 matchup, then two weeks later he fumbled again against Buffalo. But Mike Vrabel stuck by him, Stevenson fixed it and — all things considered — he wound up having a pretty good year.<\/p>\n Henderson, after an electric preseason, had a slow start to the year which led to inevitable pearl-clutching about whether he was a bust five games into his NFL career. He wound up having an outstanding rookie season and there\u2019s room for growth.<\/p>\n Three other backs — the since-released Antonio Gibson, Terrell Jennings and D\u2019Ernest Johnson — combined for 61 carries. Gibson\u2019s season ended early with a blown knee.<\/p>\n Bright spots<\/p>\n Stevenson had a nice all-around close to the season. He carried 130 times for 603 yards and caught 32 passes for 345 yards, scoring nine times in 14 games. He had some real clunkers — six carries, five yards vs. Tennessee; 13 for 18 vs the Saints — but carried 29 times for 279 yards over the last four games and started the playoffs with 51 carries for 194 yards before the unpleasant Super Bowl experience.<\/p>\n Henderson showed backfield explosiveness the Patriots haven\u2019t had in I can\u2019t even tell you how long. He started getting double-digit touches in Week 8 vs. Cleveland, and from that point on he carried 137 times for 758 yards and eight touchdowns. <\/p>\n That projects to 232 carries, 1,288 yards and 14 TDs over a full season. Not saying he\u2019ll do that, just saying over a 10-game stretch, he was real, real good.<\/p>\n Disappointments<\/p>\n The Stevenson fumbles were really annoying. They were practically unforced, non-contact events going back to last year in which he\u2019d allow the ball to get away from his body as he was headed to the ground.<\/p>\n As for Henderson, for a player so ballyhooed for his blitz-pickup ability, he was somewhat of a liability early in the year. His overall numbers were also buoyed by a few big home run plays, so it\u2019s worth noting that 5.1-yard average has some 50-plus runs in it.<\/p>\n It was disappointing as well that Gibson got hurt. He was such a good contributor in 2024 and had a nice start to the year, including a kick return touchdown.<\/p>\n Contract statuses<\/p>\n Stevenson signed a very generous four-year, $36 million deal before 2024 that runs through 2028. The numbers are easy — cap hits of $7.4 million, $9.6 million and $11.6 million the next three years. His OverTheCap valuation\u00a0is $4.74 million<\/a>. He\u2019s not a great value.<\/p>\n Henderson is an amazing value since his total cap hit through 2028 is $11.14 million on his rookie deal. His cap hit this year is $2.53 million.<\/p>\n Jennings and Lan Larison, an undrafted free agent who was injured in training camp, are the only other backs on the roster.<\/p>\n Offseason priority (1 to 5 scale)<\/p>\n It’s a 2.5. Medium priority. <\/p>\n The Patriots can certainly run it back with Henderson and Stevenson as the top two, but the team needs a higher-level depth piece. Gibson-ish level would be the ideal. If they want to get even better and make running back a priority, I wouldn\u2019t blame them. <\/p>\n Stevenson is a nice player but using the Vrabel mantra of \u201cbetter, younger, cheaper\u2026\u201d he shouldn\u2019t feel too comfortable about seeing the end of his deal in 2028.<\/p>\n Rico Dowdle (Panthers), Kenneth Gainwell (Steelers) and Tyler Allgeier (Falcons) all would be mid-tier free agents worth bringing in if the team wanted to heat up Stevenson now. <\/p>\n