There are plenty of changes coming to the New England Patriots in 2025. Jerod Mayo was replaced by Mike Vrabel after one season as head coach and the moves kept coming with nine projected starters arriving in free agency. With two more potential starters in this year’s draft class, there were a lot of veterans that became losers this offseason.
The wide receiver became crowded and spelled trouble for veterans and young players alike. The offensive line also received an overhaul with Garrett Bradbury and Morgan Moses joining first-round pick Will Campbell in the trenches. Even the defense saw plenty of losers with five new starters coming to New England but when it came to who lost the most, there’s one name that rose above the rest.
Rhamondre Stevenson is the Patriots’ Biggest Loser This Offseason
The arrow was pointing up for Rhamondre Stevenson heading into the 2024 season. After his first 1,000-yard season in 2022, Stevenson was on pace to do it again until an ankle injury limited him to 12 games. The back-to-back performance convinced the Patriots to give the Oklahoma product a four-year, $36 million extension last season and he appeared to be in the team’s long term plans.
At that point, Stevenson literally fumbled it away. He put the ball on the turf seven times last season and found himself in Mayo’s doghouse. Vrabel vowed to fix Stevenson’s ball security issues in February and it felt like a good opportunity to pair him with a coach that ranked in the top 10 of rushing attempts and offense four times during his time with the Tennessee Titans. But that went out the window when the Patriots took TreVeyon Henderson in the second round of the draft.
Henderson put up eye-popping athletic numbers at the NFL Scouting combine, running a 4.43-second 40-yard dash and a 9.45 relative athletic score (RAS). But he also excels in two areas that Stevenson doesn’t: ball security and pass protection.
The 22-year-old fumbled once on 590 career carries at Ohio State and was a willing pass blocker with 10 pressures allowed on 231 pass-blocking snaps (4.3% pressure rate). Stevenson has allowed a similar pressure rate in pass protection (5.1%) but is a less dynamic back that has issues hanging onto the ball.
This paints an ominous picture for Stevenson’s long-term future. The ability to have two functional backs will work in the Patriots favor. But it also leaves Stevenson up in the air despite having three years left on his deal. While others will have to work harder to keep their job, Stevenson may have lost his as a starter, leaving him as one of the biggest losers of the offseason.