Rhamondre Stevenson's Make-or-Break Season With Rookie Waiting in Wings
The New England Patriots shocked fans by drafting Ohio State's dynamic running back TreVeyon Henderson in the 2025 NFL Draft's second round, despite Rhamondre Stevenson's $36 million extension. This bold move sparks fierce backfield competition, setting up a make-or-break season.
The Athletic's Chad Graff pinpointed Stevenson's four-year, $36 million contract as a 2025 focal point. 'The Patriots don't really have an obvious contract problem,' Graff wrote, 'but Stevenson's extension already looks foolish after his struggles.' Henderson's arrival gives New England flexibility if Stevenson falters again.
Last season, Stevenson led with an okay 801 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. However, his six fumbles, three causing turnovers, exposed a critical flaw.
Advertisement
New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson (38) runs the ball against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half at Gillette Stadium.
New head coach Mike Vrabel, known for his tough mindset, backs Stevenson. 'We're extremely excited to have him with us,' Vrabel told reporters in May, stressing his offensive role. Yet, Henderson's speed looms large.
Henderson, a 2024 national champion, posted 1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns at Ohio State, averaging 7.1 yards per carry. His 4.43-second 40-yard dash and pass-catching ability could redefine the backfield. Stevenson holds the top spot, but it's fragile.
The Patriots' draft strategy reflects their best-player-available philosophy, prioritizing talent over immediate need. Henderson's explosiveness adds pressure on Stevenson to sharpen his ball security and reclaim dominance. Training camp will be pivotal.
Will Stevenson cement his role as the lead back, or will Henderson's electrifying talent steal the spotlight? The 2025 season will decide Stevenson's future in New England.
Related: More from Patriot Country:
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Moomoo And New York Mets Unveil Display at Citi Field: A Bold New Presence at The Ballpark
JERSEY CITY, N.J., July 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- moomoo, the global investment and trading platform, has unveiled a new, 36-foot high, double-sided display at Citi Field as part of its multi-year collaboration with the New York Mets. First displayed on July 18, the vibrant orange moomoo logo now adds a bright pop of color to the ballpark's dynamic visual landscape. This prominent signage, complemented by the moomoo mascot, ribbon displays, and immersive billboard advertisements, significantly amplifies moomoo's brand visibility and recognition among millions of baseball fans at Citi Moomoo's prominent 36-foot high signage lights up Citi Field With an average attendance of over 38,603 fans per game and 80 home games this season, the stadium brings extensive brand exposure to moomoo. Announced in April, the cross-sector collaboration between moomoo and the Mets also gives thousands of baseball fans the opportunity to watch the game in the moomoo Suite throughout the season. With this opportunity, fans have access to premium seats while enjoying best in class in-game entertainment, top tier dining options and exciting on-field performance. Since the start of the baseball season, moomoo has seen a significant increase in app downloads, brand visibility in various channels, and welcomes the opportunity to provide advanced tools and features, a global community of over 26 million investors, and free educational resources to beginner and advanced investors alike. Mets pitcher Edwin Diaz stars in a new commercial for moomoo, where the All-Star reliever details similarities between closing and stock trading: reading the game, analyzing opportunities, timing the moment, and moving with accuracy. "During this exciting season, moomoo is continuing its engagement with New York communities, and we have gained more opportunities to do investor education. We are delighted to see more and more people getting to know moomoo and understand our business philosophy through our collaboration with the Mets," said Neil McDonald, CEO at Moomoo Financials Inc. "We believe that through learning and practice on the moomoo platform, which offers a variety of investment tools, investors can ultimately invest like professional investors." 'This new signage marks an exciting next step in the growth of our partnership with moomoo and will help enhance their brand visibility around the ballpark,' said Brenden Mallette, Senior Vice President of Partnerships at the New York Mets. 'We've seen great engagement from our fans over the past few months and look forward to bringing more exciting moments to moomoo investors and Mets fans.' For every Mets win, $10,000 will be added to a special fund, culminating in a potential $1 million grand prize for one lucky moomoo investor if the team reaches 100 regular season victories*. In addition to organizing special events, moomoo offers various giveaways. These include 500 free game tickets on 'moomoo Mondays' throughout the season for moomoo users** and the opportunity to score exclusive Mets x moomoo merch. *Terms and conditions apply ( ** Limited to Moomoo Financial Inc customers residing in tri-state area (NY, NJ, CT, and PA). Terms and conditions apply ( ). About moomoo Moomoo is a leading global investment and trading platform dedicated to empowering investors with user-friendly tools, data, and insights. Our platform is designed to provide essential information and technology, enabling users to make more-informed investment decisions. With advanced charting tools, pro-level analytical features, moomoo evolves alongside our users, fostering a dynamic community where investors can share, learn, and grow together. Founded in the US, moomoo operates globally, serving investors in countries such as the US, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Canada and Malaysia. As a subsidiary of a Nasdaq-listed Futu Holdings (FUTU), we take pride in our role as a global strategic partner of the Nasdaq, earning numerous international accolades from renowned industry leaders such as Benzinga and Fintech Breakthrough. Moomoo has also received multiple awards in the US, Singapore, and Australia for its innovative, inclusive approach to investing. Contact: For more information, please visit moomoo's official website at or contact us at pr@ For the New York Mets questions, please contact: Katie AgostinManager, CommunicationsNew York Metskagostin@ A photo accompanying this announcement is available at in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Big Ten commish Tony Petitti sent letter to NCAA arguing no further punishment for Michigan in Connor Stalions case
Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti caught a lot of flak from Michigan fans when he punished the school as part of the Connor Stalions sign-stealing scandal. Now, however, Petitti might prove to be the school's biggest ally. Petitti reportedly sent a letter to the NCAA arguing against issuing further punishments to Michigan as part of the Stalions scandal, per Dan Wetzel of ESPN. That letter was reportedly read during an infractions-committee meeting in June, per ESPN. The NCAA is expected to hand down additional penalties to Michigan ahead of the 2025 season. The organization charged Michigan with 11 violations, six of which were considered Level 1, which the NCAA labels as a "severe breach of conduct." The committee has yet to issue additional punishments from those violations. Despite Petitti's plea, the committee does not have to listen to his advice. Petitti already punished Michigan for the Stalions sign-stealing scandal. In 2023, Petitti suspended Jim Harbaugh for three games. In response, Michigan sought a temporary restraining order to prevent that suspension from taking effect. Harbaugh wound up serving the suspension, but Michigan won every game during his absence, and then went on to win the national championship. In his letter, Petitti reportedly argued that suspension was adequate, and that the university shouldn't be subjected to additional punishments for the Stalions scandal. Following that national-championship win, Harbaugh left Michigan for the Los Angeles Chargers. He led the team to an 11-6 record in his first season back in the NFL. After Harbaugh left, Michigan promoted offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore into the head-coaching role. Moore led the team to an 8-5 record in his first season with the team. It's unclear whether the NCAA will hand down additional punishments as part of the Stalions scandal. The organization could consider "vacating past victories, a postseason ban, the suspension of coaches, a monetary fine or other measures," per ESPN. In May, the university recommended a two-game suspension for Moore during the 2025 season after he allegedly deleted a text-message chain with Stalions after the sign-stealing scandal was discovered. Those texts were reportedly recovered by the NCAA. Since Petitti's original punishment 2023, the NCAA handed down penalties to Michigan for issues unrelated to the Stalions scandal. In 2024, Harbaugh was suspended for a year and given a four-year show-clause penalty for recruiting violations. He — along with Moore and the entire program — could face even more punishments depending on how the infractions committee rules ahead of the 2025 season.
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Scottie Scheffler cruises to his fourth major at The Open Championship
Yahoo Sports AM is our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports. Sign up here to get it every weekday morning. 🚨 Headlines 🏈 Trump demands name changes: President Donald Trump is threatening to hold up a new stadium deal for the Commanders if they don't restore their "Redskins" name. He also called for the Guardians to change back to "Indians." ⚾️ Milwaukee stays hot: The Brewers won their 10th straight game on Sunday (and swept the Dodgers for the second time in the span of two weeks) to tie the Cubs atop the NL Central at 59-40. 🏀 Charlotte wins title: No. 4 pick Kon Knueppel led the Hornets to their first Summer League championship, scoring 21 points against the Kings in Sunday's title game en route to earning MVP honors. ⚽️ Final Four: Italy (over Norway), Spain (over Switzerland), England (over Sweden) and Germany (over France) advanced to the Women's Euros semifinals, with the latter two winning on penalties. 🏀 Lakers add Smart: Former Celtics standout Marcus Smart is set to join the Lakers on a two-year deal after agreeing to a buyout with the Wizards. ⛳️ Scheffler cruises to fourth major title Golf is not the most important thing in Scottie Scheffler's life, as he explained so well last week. But boy, is he good at it. A league of his own: The world's top-ranked golfer cruised to a four-shot victory on Sunday at Royal Portrush to win his first Open and his fourth major title. Nobody even came close to catching Scheffler (-17), who finished the week 59-of-63 (93.7%) on putts inside 10 feet. The 29-year-old is now just a U.S. Open victory away from becoming the seventh golfer to complete the career grand slam. Elite company: Scheffler joins Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Gary Player as the only golfers to win the Open, Masters and PGA Championship before age 30. "He is the bar that we're all trying to get to. In a historical context, you could argue that there's only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run [like] the one that Scottie's been on here for the last 24 to 36 months. Incredibly impressive." — Rory McIlroy, who finished T7 (-10) in front of an adoring home crowd. Wild stat: Scheffler and Woods each took exactly 1,197 days from their first major win to their fourth. What's Scottie's ceiling? With four majors in hand, Scheffler has firmly entered the conversation of all-time greats, writes Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee: No, he's nowhere near Tiger and Jack. He's not in the class of Arnold Palmer or Gary Player just yet. Golf's pantheon rewards not just numerical excellence, but sustained greatness, and for all of Scheffler's achievements, he only won his first tournament barely three years ago. Still, there are only 21 men in golf history who have won more majors than Scheffler's four. He's 29 years old and playing golf not just at an elite level, but a sustainable one. Given the depth and breadth of talent in the world today, it's unlikely Scheffler will be able to get to Woods' 15 and Nicklaus' 18 majors, but could he pass Palmer's seven, Watson's eight, Player's nine? It's always treacherous to speak in absolutes when it comes to golf, but in this case … absolutely. The last word: "I don't think we thought the golfing world would see someone as dominant as Tiger come through so soon, and here's Scottie sort of taking that throne," Xander Schauffele said Sunday. "When you see his name up on the leaderboard, it sucks for us." 🇺🇸 Photos across America Indianapolis — WNBA players made a statement amid pivotal CBA negotiations, wearing shirts that read "Pay us what you owe us" ahead of Saturday's All-Star Game. All-Star Game recap: Napheesa Collier scored a record 36 points in a 151-131 win over Caitlin Clark's squad. Las Vegas — Manny Pacquiao appeared to have made history on Saturday in his comeback bout against WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios. But then the judges took it away, denying the 46-year-old a legendary victory. Controversial result: Despite winning on the majority of scorecards from both his fellow fighters and boxing analysts online, Pacquiao's return ended in a majority draw. Two judges scored it 114-114, while one had it 115-113 for Barrios. New York — The Mets retired former captain David Wright's No. 5 jersey and inducted him into the team's Hall of Fame during a pregame ceremony on Saturday. No. 5 forever: Wright is the 10th Met to have his number retired by the organization, joining legends like Tom Seaver, Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Keith Hernandez and Mike Piazza. 🌎 Photos around the world London — Oleksandr Usyk knocked out Daniel Dubois in Round 5 on Saturday at Wembley Stadium to become a two-time undisputed heavyweight world champion. One of the greats: Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) is the first men's boxer to become an undisputed champion for a third time, following previous reigns at cruiserweight (2018) and heavyweight (2024). Basel, Switzerland — Germany stunned France on Saturday thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who made clutch save after clutch save to send her team to the Women's Euro semifinals. F*ck cancer: Berger, 34, is a two-time thyroid cancer survivor. The only visible sign of what she's been through is on her neck, where a tattoo reading "All we have is now" covers up scars from her treatment. Luchon Superbagnères, France — I have absolutely no idea what is happening in this photo. 🇫🇷 Charted: Tour de France stages Riders have reached the mountains at the Tour de France, where two-time champion Tadej Pogačar holds the overall lead through 15 of 21 stages entering today's off day. Stage winners: 🇧🇪 Jasper Philipsen (Belgium) 🇳🇱 Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) 🇧🇪 Tim Merlier (Belgium) 🇸🇮 Pogačar (Slovenia) 🇧🇪 Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) 🇮🇪 Ben Healy (Ireland) 🇸🇮 Pogačar 🇮🇹 Jonathan Milan (Italy) 🇧🇪 Merlier 🏴 Simon Yates (England) 🇳🇴 Jonas Abrahamsen (Norway) 🇸🇮 Pogačar 🇸🇮 Pogačar 🇳🇱 Thymen Arensman (Netherlands) 🇧🇪 Tim Wellens (Belgium) Looking ahead: The action resumes tomorrow with Stage 16, where the peloton will take on the steepest summit finish of the whole race — the legendary Mont Ventoux. Worth a follow: SportsBall is one of my favorite Instagram accounts. A brilliant combination of data and art. ⚽️ Europe trivia England, Spain, Germany and Italy have reached the semifinals of the Women's Euros. Question: Can you rank those four semifinalists by population? Answer at the bottom. 🍿 Baker's Dozen: Top plays of the weekend Two of the best plays you'll ever see headline this weekend's Baker's Dozen. ⚾️ Ronald Acuña Jr.!!! 🏈 Bryson Wright!!! ⚽️ Save of her life ⚾️ Dodged the tag ⚽️ Bicycle kick alert! 🥍 Filthy finish ⚾️ How'd he do that? ⚾️ Luis lays out 🏈 Elite catch, footwork ⚽️ Wonder strike ⚾️ Alek Thomas! ⚽️ Lionel Messi! 🥎 Full extension grab Watch all 13. Trivia answer: Germany (84 million), Italy (59 million), England (57 million), Spain (48 million) We hope you enjoyed this edition of Yahoo Sports AM, our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.
