Entering the fourth season of his career, New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson is about to begin the final year of his rookie contract after being selected in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL draft out of Oklahoma.
Through three seasons, Stevenson has been productive, playing in 41 games and rushing for 2,265 yards and 14 touchdowns on 4.5 yards per carry. He's also been a threat in the receiving game as well, bringing in 121 passes for 782 yards and another score.
A contract year is always on players' minds, and Stevenson made his intentions clear during his media availability on Tuesday.
"I'd love to be here for a countless amount of years," Stevenson said.
New England doesn't have the best history when it comes to re-signing running backs beyond their rookie deals unless they are the third-down backs. In fact, since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994, they haven't given a single running back that they drafted a second contract. Kevin Faulk and James White, who were receiving backs, were the only two drafted by the Patriots that saw another deal.
It's a new era in New England, but there's enough of the old regime still around to make it hard to believe that they'd pay Stevenson what he could get on the market. At the same time, many likely didn't expect the Patriots to give large extensions to Kyle Dugger, Mike Onwenu and Christian Barmore in recent months, but they did. So, maybe there's hope for a fifth-year of the Sooner product in red, white and blue after all.
