Rhamondre Stevenson Climbs NFL’s Rushing Ranks With Four-Year Patriots Extension

Rhamondre Stevenson believed that a new contract was “pretty close” during mandatory minicamp.

Ten days later, the running back proved to be right. He now finds himself in select NFL company at the position after agreeing to terms with the New England Patriots on a four-year, $36 million extension.

The deal, as first reported Thursday afternoon by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, includes $17 million fully guaranteed. And with cap space to spend after a 4-13 campaign, it continues the trend of retaining building blocks under new executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf.

Past Patriots selections in offensive tackle Mike Onwenu and outside linebackers Anfernee Jennings and Josh Uche remain under contract in Foxborough. So does safety Kyle Dugger, whose transition tag was ultimately replaced by a four-year, $58 million extension. Veterans ranging from tight end Hunter Henry to wide receiver Kendrick Bourne also move forward with the club that they initially joined in 2021.

The same goes for four-year, $84 million defensive tackle Christian Barmore, a member of the same rookie class as Stevenson, who got the call in the fourth round at No. 120 overall.

The 26-year-old rusher has appeared in 41 games since then, starting 21. He has accumulated 2,265 yards through 499 carries, 782 yards through 121 catches and 15 combined touchdowns.

A career-high 1,461 scrimmage yards were amassed as an NFL sophomore, all while Stevenson paced the Patriots with 69 receptions and tied for the team lead with six trips to the end zone. But the engine of the offense saw this past campaign conclude on injured reserve in December following a high ankle sprain and a dozen starts.

A $3.116 million base salary was on deck for Stevenson in the final year of his rookie contract.

“It’s the last year of your deal. It’s something you got to think about,” Stevenson told reporters amid minicamp on the Gillette Stadium practice fields. “But right now, I’m just trying to get the deal done right now and get it locked in with the extension. So, we can see where that goes.”

The new agreement slots Stevenson sixth around the NFL among running backs in terms of total contract value, behind Saquon Barkley’s $37.75 million and ahead of Miles Sanders’ $25.4 million. In terms of average annual value, the product of Cerritos College and the University of Oklahoma ranks seventh at the position, trailing Christian McCaffrey’s $19 million, Alvin Kamara’s $15 million, Jonathan Taylor’s $14 million, Saquon Barkley’s $12.583 million, Josh Jacobs’ $12 million and Joe Mixon’s $9.875 million.

He also stands seventh in the backfield when it comes to guaranteed money, according to OverTheCap.com.

“I will say this about Rhamondre: I think he’s one of the better backs in the league,” Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said during a mid-June press conference. “It’s no doubt about it. I think over the last couple years, it’s been kind of tough on him as far as just getting started, so I’m excited to see what he does this season. And look, he’s earned everything that he gets. He is our starting running back and hopefully we do get something done.”

Stevenson’s extension features an $8 million signing bonus and has up to $12 million in incentives, which run from 2025 through 2028, as NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport outlined. At $600,000 per tier, those seasonal triggers are tied to reaching 1,400, 1,500 and 1,600 scrimmage yards as well as Pro Bowl or All-Pro honors.

The maximum value over the course of the deal checks in at $48 million.

The Patriots signed all-purpose running back Antonio Gibson to a three-year, $11.25 million pact as unrestricted free agency opened in March. The depth chart also includes holdovers Kevin Harris and JaMycal Hasty along with undrafted arrivals DeShaun Fenwick and Terrell Jennings.

But groundwork begins with No. 38.