In March, Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson endured a difficult personal loss: His father, Robert, passed away at the young age of 54. As he and his family was still grieving when the Patriots opened OTAs in late May, Stevenson was allowed to stay away from the team to be with loved ones.
Coach Mike Vrabel said at the time that he was in contact with Stevenson, but it turned out there was more to it than that. Other members of the staff, too, reached out to Stevenson, and running backs coach Tony Dews even went to Stevenson’s home in Las Vegas to visit with him and his family.
Stevenson returned to OTAs, and on Monday, for the first time, he addressed reporters and expressed his gratitude for the way the team kept in touch with him throughout his personal ordeal.
“It meant a lot, just the whole coaching staff, them being new and still having my back, checking in on me,” he said. “The running back coach even came to Vegas for a little bit. All that means a lot to me, it meant a lot to my family. I love it.”
Rhamondre Stevenson: ‘It Felt Great’
Stevenson’s career has tracked along with the Patriots fortunes. He was drafted in 2021, and cracked the 1,000-yard mark in his second NFL season, when he went for 1,040 yards on the ground and added 69 catches and 421 yards receiving. But he has had injury troubles in the past two seasons, and was not helped much by the Patriots’ woeful offensive line.
The line will be better in 2025, and the hope is that Stevenson, who was signed to a four-year, $36 million contract last year (but with an out after 2026), will be, too. He averaged 5.0 yards per carry in 2022, which dropped to 4.0 in 2023 and 3.9 last year.
Stevenson said his approach this year has not changed. “The same as any other year,” he said. “Got back to it a little bit late, I’ve got some things going on in my life. But the same principles, same standard. But I am out here now, trying to get myself back into shape and get ready for camp.”
Camp has, actually, given him escape from his personal issues. “It felt great,” Stevenson said. “Just being in the huddle with the guys, being back in meetings and the weight room. It’s great to be around them. They kind of get my mind off things and keep my focused on football.”
Patriots Offense Is Familiar
Stevenson does have a bit of an edge coming into this season, because he played his rookie year with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels running the show, and McDaniels is back as the OC this year.
“I’d say I am very comfortable,” Stevenson said. “Just looking back, going through it, Josh and Bill Belichick yelled at me a lot my rookie year for the same playbook, so I kinda got it drilled into me, I just need to go over it a little more.
“Just getting ready for another year. It’s Year 5, I think I know what is expected of me to be successful on the field. Personally, and as a team to be successful on the field, get some wins under our belts. I think it’s just honing down on what I know I need to do, and the coaching staff knows I need to do. Not perfect, but trying to do that.”
