FOXBOROUGH - In years past, any mention of the word 'contract' in Foxborough usually led to uncomfortable silence, death stares, or some form of the standard line 'You know we don't talk about that,' except, of course, when they decided it was in their benefit to do so.
So when Rhamondre Stevenson said, "Yeah, it's pretty close," when asked about a contract extension, I was reminded once again that we've entered a new era of Patriot football, where not everything has to be guarded like the launch codes for nukes. I don't have enough evidence to tell you whether that's for better or worse, but it's distinctly different, just as taking care of their own this offseason - generally - has also been a departure from the 20-or-so-year norm.
Stevenson's admission did catch me by surprise for another reason. Before he said that, I understood that the two sides hadn't found enough common ground to prevent the fourth-year pro from being in a "contract year," and Jerod Mayo hesitated when I asked him if he'd like to see a deal get done.
"You know, we'll see," he said. "I will say this about Rhamondre: I think he's one of the better backs in the league, no doubt about it. I think over the last few years, it's been kind of tough on him, as far as 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 has seen free-agent deals handed out to Mike Onwenu, Hunter Henry, Kyle Dugger, Kendrick Bourne, and Josh Uche. They were players identified by GM Eliot Wolf and Mayo as core pieces worthy of remaining in Foxborough. David Andrews also got another year tacked on to his current contract, and the team inked a healthy extension with Christian Barmore, both undoubtedly for the same reason. But Stevenson waits, leaning on those guys for support and guidance.
"They just told me not to let it really affect me or you know, not let anything really get to me," he said. "Just respect the process. Control what I can control them. God's got me in the end, so I'm not really worried about it."
I quickly followed up, wondering if remaining patient had been challenging.
"Definitely. It's hard not to think about. This is our career and our life. Our future. So it's hard not to think about but just staying disciplined, just coming out here working every day and as long as you do that, everything else should come with it."
Stevenson looks a little different this spring. It appeared as though he had lost some weight — not that he was carrying around excess last year — but the 26-year-old said he'd just redistributed those pounds and lowered his body fat through a stricter diet (I asked for tips). That was borne from a disappointing 2023-24 campaign in which he got off to a slow start and then missed the final month with an ankle injury.
"Just trying to make sure my body is ready for the whole season," he said. "You know, it's a long season. I think what that could get like, so I tried to prepare myself for that."
Stevenson played in just 12 games and had 156 carries and 38 receptions, down from the full 17 games in 2022-23 when he went for over 1,000 yards and led the team in catches (69). His struggles were about more than just him last season, but if the Pats offense is to become competent once again, they'll need the powerful runner to be better. The system certainly should be beneficial. In fact, Stevenson has spent several nights going down the YouTube rabbit hole, but for a specific reason.
"For me, I just turned on, honestly, Nick Chubb's highlights and just seeing him running all throughout defenses with it," he said of the Cleveland system brought here by Alex Van Pelt. "The linemen are on the right courses, everything looks well put together, and everybody's working together. So I hope we can get that done this year."
A healthy and happy Stevenson could provide that same kind of juice and make life a hell of a lot easier for the quarterbacks, the playcaller, and the unit as a whole. But with the running back market remaining depressed (minus the McCaffrey extension and Barkley's free-agent deal), the former fourth-round pick might have to decide that a multi-year contract beats a possible one-and-done scenario like the one he's currently working on.
