Source – Patriots, RB Rhamondre Stevenson agree to four-year contract worth $36 million

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Running back Rhamondre Stevenson said earlier this month that he believed a contract extension with the New England Patriots was “pretty close,” and that, as he has often done on the field, he pushed the deal over the target . line.

Stevenson reached an agreement with the team on a four-year extension worth $36 million, including $17 million fully guaranteed, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Thursday.

The extension continues an offseason theme for the Patriots under first-year executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and first-year head coach Jerod Mayo. Wolf said the Patriots want to be known as a “draft and develop” team.

Patriots continue their trend of re-signing and retaining their own talent this season.

🏈RB Rhamondre Stevenson (4 years, $36 million)
🏈S Kyle Dugger (4 years, $58 million)
🏈OT Mike Onwenu (3 years, $57 million)
🏈TE Hunter Henry (3 years, $27 million)
🏈WR Kendrick Bourne (3 years, $19.5 million)… pic.twitter.com/e3M14pdsRf

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 20, 2024

Stevenson joined the Patriots in 2021 as a fourth-round pick out of Oklahoma. In 41 NFL games, he has totaled 2,265 rushing yards on 499 carries with 14 touchdowns. He was also productive as a pass catcher, with 121 receptions for 782 yards and one touchdown.

He was entering the final year of the four-year contract he signed as a rookie, which includes a base salary of $3.116 million for the 2024 season.

“I think he’s one of the better backs in the league, there’s no doubt about that,” Mayo said at the team’s mandatory minicamp two weeks ago. “I’m excited to see what he does this season, and look, he’s earned everything he’s getting.”

This marks the third season in which Stevenson will be the Patriots’ leading running back, this time under first-year offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who plans to make wide-zone runs that Stevenson said he has time to do this offseason spent studying it. As part of that process, Stevenson said he saw film of Browns running back Nick Chubb, while Van Pelt had been on Cleveland’s coaching staff the previous four seasons.

“When I see him running it all over the defense, the linemen are on the right track, everything looks good,” he said two weeks ago. “I hope we can do that this year.”

Stevenson, who stands 6-foot-4 and 227 pounds, also said he is carrying his weight better this offseason, as a result of a stricter focus on nutrition.

Stevenson, who will be joined by free agent signing Antonio Gibson on the running back depth chart, told reporters earlier this month that it had been a “long process” negotiating an extension with the Patriots.