4 Patriots who are likely entering their final season with the team

Rhamondre Stevenson likely won't return to the Patriots

2025 cap hit: Stevenson is a free agent after the 2024 season

Stevenson has played only three seasons but he is 26 years old which means - doing the hard math here - that he will be 27 years old in 2025. That certainly is not old for a human being, but for a running back in the NFL it is already beginning to get a bit old. Plus, Stevenson has a bit of an injury history having missed multiple games in two of his three seasons. The issue is that when he does play, he is pretty good.

This was true even in 2023 when the New England offensive line was so bad. Averaging 4.0 yards per carry in 156 rushes is probably like averaging 4.5 on most other teams. 4.5 also just happens to be Stevenson's overall career number. He can also catch the ball well, including 69 receptions in 2022 when he had 1,461 yards from scrimmage.

The odd part, though, is that while Stevenson can churn out yards, he doesn't turn that into many touchdowns. He has 14 rushing touchdowns over three years and 499 carries and just one touchdown receiving even though he has 121 career catches.

That means he scores 2.4 percent of the time he has the ball in his hands. Compare that to someone such as Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner's percentage of 4.4 and one can see the Patriots can get better production from another back.

Still, the main concern is Stevenson is a free agent in 2025 and has had injury issues. Is he worth re-signing and taking a chance that he won't continue to miss multiple games every season or would it be better to draft a running back? Likely the latter is the better option.

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