Big changes were made over at Foxborough in the offseason. The New England Patriots fired first-year head coach Jerod Mayo and replaced him with former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel. On top of that, no team spent more than the Patriots in free agency in an attempt to improve upon their 4-13 record in 2024.

Per Spotrac, the Patriots spent $360 million in total contract value in free agency, $95 million more than the next closest team. Like all contracts in the NFL, some of those handed out will hit and prove to be successful, while others will likely not live up to their production. Something the Patriots know a little about in recent memory.

According to Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport, one particular Patriots player should be considered the most overpaid player at his position. In an article titled “The NFL’s Most Overpaid Player at Every Position”, Davenport lists off players who have been given big-money contracts but haven’t lived up to those expectations before arriving at Patriots’ running back Rhamondre Stevenson, naming him the most overpaid player at the position.

“It’s not easy to make big bucks in the backfield in today’s NFL. There are only seven running backs in the league with an average annual salary of $10 million or more—and those backs all have resumes with multiple seasons of high-end production.” Davenport writes.

Stevenson earned a four-year, $36 million extension a year ago after rushing for 2265 yards and 14 touchdowns in his first three seasons in the NFL, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. However, Davenport isn’t impressed.

“Yes, the 27-year-old topped 1,000 yards on the ground for the Patriots in 2022, carrying the ball 210 times for 1,040 yards and five scores,” He added. “But in 2023 (before getting his payday), he missed five games and saw his yards per carry drop by a full yard.”

The concerns are fair. Stevenson averaged 5.0 yards per carry in 2022 but dropped down to 4.0 yards per carry in 2023, as well as missing five games due to injury. In 2024, Stevenson lost his starting job because of fumbling issues.

“Things got that much worse for the Oklahoma product last year. He missed time again. He averaged just 3.9 yards per carry. His 431 yards after contact ranked outside the top 20 at the position. He also fumbled seven times, the most of any NFL running back.”

The Patriots drafted Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and if Stevenson continues to struggle, he could find his role reduced even further.