Patriots extend Rhamondre Stevenson as he chases an elusive franchise record

Unlike last offseason, running backs are getting paid quite well. In free agency, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Saquon Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million contract, and the Green Bay Packers and Josh Jacobs agreed to terms on a four-year, $48 million deal. Recently, the San Francisco 49ers gave Christian McCaffrey a two-year, $38 million contract extension.

Running backs are getting paid this offseason, and one more player at the position is proof of that.

According to ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, the New England Patriots and Rhamondre Stevenson agreed to terms on a four-year, $36 million contract extension, with $17 million of that salary being fully guaranteed.

With this new deal, Stevenson will be under contract through the 2028 season. Not only will Stevenson be one of the key players on offense, but he will have the chance to make history.

Rhamondre Stevenson signs four-year extension, now has chance to be Patriots' all-time leading rusher

As Schefter points out, Stevenson has the chance to become the Patriots' all-time leading rusher.

In the history of the Patriots organization, no player had more rushing yards than Sam Cunningham, who picked up a total of 5,453 yards on 1,385 carries in 10 seasons (1973-82). Second behind Cunningham is Jim Nance, who ran for 5,323 yards on 1,323 carries from 1965 until 1971.

Stevenson is not far off from reaching that, despite playing just three seasons with the team. From 2021 through 2023, Stevenson recorded 2,265 rushing yards on 499 carries. His rushing yards total is 18th all-time in franchise history. So, he's really not far off from breaking Cunningham's record if he is to remain with the team through his contract.

2022 was a breakout year for Stevenson, who ran for 1,040 yards on 210 carries, giving him an average of 5.0 yards per carry. This past season, Stevenson was named the starter but was limited to just 12 games after suffering a season-ending high ankle sprain in Week 13 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

If Stevenson continues to keep up the pace he's been going, especially with improvements across the offense, he should be able to break the Patriots' rushing yard record in no time. Come on, the offense certainly won't be as bad as it was in 2023.