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Will Rhamondre Stevenson start for the Patriots when he returns? John breaks down the Rhamondre Stevenson return timeline for Week 9 and fantasy football outlook.
New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson (toe) was healthy and active through his first eight games of 2025. Unfortunately, that streak is coming to an end in Week 9.
Stevenson didn't practice all week with a toe injury, and was eventually ruled out before the contest against the Atlanta Falcons. In his place, RBs TreVeyon Henderson and Terrell Jennings are set to handle New England's backfield work.
Given Stevenson's tendency to fumble the ball and create turnovers, and his inconsistent performances throughout his career, will he lose his starting job while he's hurt? Let's dive in.
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Will Rhamondre Stevenson Start For The Patriots When He Returns?
I guess the Patriots could reshuffle the depth chart at some point, but I have serious doubts. Stevenson is the best RB New England has at one very important thing -- running the ball up the middle. And that's an area in which the rookie Stevenson has been bad.
Not only has he struggled on runs to the A and B gaps, which are runs in between offensive linemen, he's been arguably the worst RB in the league at doing so by a pretty healthy margin. It's a big reason, according to my analysis, why he has been such a fantasy football bust this year.
TreVeyon Henderson vs Bam Knight on inside runs:
YPC - Bam: 3.17, TH: 2.71
Success Rate - Bam: 58.3%, TH: 33.3%
Stuff %: Bam: 41.7%, TH: 62.5%
MTF/Att: Bam: 0.08, TH: 0.00
YACon/Att: Bam: 1.17, TH: 1.17I can see why NE wants Terrell Jennings...
Data via @FantasyPtsData
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) November 1, 2025
The numbers are truly hideous. He is last in the league in yards after contact by a big margin on runs to the A and B gaps. He's also one of the only RBs who hasn't forced a missed tackle on such runs. In 24 rush attempts up the middle, Henderson has gone down on first contact 100 percent of the time.
He has a very low success rate and a high stuff rate, meaning his inside runs don't pick up the necessary yards to provide meaningful assistance in keeping drives going or scoring. Stevenson is much better on inside runs. He's a bigger back that can more effectively take on big defenders without crumpling.
Rhamondre Stevenson has a New England touchdown!
NEvsBUF on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/s2X6Gggtgz— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2025
Henderson was drafted for his explosive athleticism. But my scouting report on him indicated that he looked a lot like a track athlete in a football uniform. He looks like a world-beater as long as he's untouched by defenders. But he's very easy to trip and bring down in other ways.
It's extremely important for RBs to power through defenders, force missed tackles, and pick up extra yards. On any given play, the result is almost always better if a tailback can make at least one defender miss their tackle attempt. Stevenson should keep his starting job.
Even if he doesn't, he'll probably have a prominent role in this backfield all year as long as he's healthy.
Rhamondre Stevenson Fantasy Football Outlook
He'll likely be a volatile player as the season goes on. He's not heavily utilized as a receiver, and most running backs who aren't have very low floors. He's been prone to highly inefficient games, such as in Week 7, when he rushed 14 times for 34 yards, averaging just over 2.4 yards per carry. He also caught one pass for 15 yards.
That totaled 5.9 PPR fantasy points. The week before, he had 16.8 points, and the week before, he had just 1.8. That week, he carried the ball 13 times for 18 yards and didn't even crack two yards per carry. His production is very dependent on the quality of the defense he faces.
This was the first time I can remember Josh McDaniels calling Dart (power with a pulling tackle)
Will Campbell and Jared Wilson collapse the line, Morgan Moses drops the LB on a pull, and Stefon Diggs gets just enough of Quandre Diggs for Rhamondre Stevenson to shake loose pic.twitter.com/GqmtE9BzoH
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) October 20, 2025
Against high-quality run defenses, like that of the Cleveland Browns, Stevenson will likely continue to struggle. But against softer defenses, he should have better days. The Patriots will face the New York Jets in Week 11 and Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12.
Those are likely matchups in which he'll have nice games, because those are two of the weakest rush defenses in the league. Expect more rage from Henderson fantasy managers as they watch Stevenson continue to handle a significant rushing workload moving forward.
Stevenson is a player I'd start in easy matchups and be much more wary of against tough opponents.
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Popular Week 9 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
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