Rhamondre Stevenson's fumbling issue has Patriots considering starting Antonio Gibson vs. Dolphins
FOXBORO -- Rhamondre Stevenson is the most explosive player on the Patriots offense. But the star running back may find himself on the bench to start Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins because of his recent issue with fumbling the football.
Stevenson has been his usual elusive self out of the New England backfield, but he has fumbled the ball in all four games so far to start the 2024 season. He lost a fumble in each of New England's last two contests, which has really brought the issue to a head.
Head coach Jerod Mayo voiced confidence in Stevenson after each game, but also responded to questions about the back's fumbling issues with "ball security is job security."
Now Stevenson may have now lost his handle on the starting job, as Mayo said that starting Antonio Gibson over Stevenson is "definitely under consideration" for New England's Week 5 tilt against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium.
"We can't preach that ball security is job security and still keep him out there all the time," Mayo said Wednesday.
For his part, Stevenson is ready to roll with whatever game plan the coaching staff has for Week 5.
"It's the elephant in the room; I've dropped the ball four times," he said Wednesday. "So whatever the coaching staff has, I'm rocking with it. I'm going to practice hard like I always do."
Stevenson -- who signed a four-year, $36 million extension in the offseason -- said that his issues holding onto the ball is a problem with his hands and not him overthinking things.
"I probably need to be thinking about it more," he said.
With the Patriots averaging just 13 points per game, they simply cannot afford to give away any possessions. Stevenson's lost fumbles against the Jets in Week 3 and the 49ers in Week 4 both led to field goals by New England's opposition.
Going back to last season, Stevenson has now fumbled in five straight games and lost of three them. He's fumbled 11 times on 564 career carries, with five of those being recovered by the other team. One of those fumbles came against the Dolphins back in 2021 in Stevenson's first-ever NFL game.
It also hasn't helped that Stevenson's overall production has dipped since he ran for 120 yards and a touchdown against the Bengals in Week 1. He had 81 yards and a touchdown in New England's Week 2 loss to the Seahawks, but had just 66 yards on only 19 carries over the last two weeks, averaging just 3.47 yards per carry. He's averaged under four yards per carry in each of the last three games.
So the Patriots may turn to Gibson to get the ground game going Sunday afternoon against Miami. A free-agent signing in the offseason, Gibson is averaging 5.3 yards on his 29 carries, good for 155 yards for the season. He had a 45-yard run against Seattle in Week 2 for New England's longest rush of the season. Gibson is also a solid pass-catcher out of the backfield with seven receptions for 82 yards.
The Patriots won't be completely turning away from Stevenson, because they can't afford to take one of their best playmakers out of the equation. But maybe some time behind Gibson on the depth chart will help Stevenson focus on hanging onto the football.
We'll get you ready for Patriots-Dolphins showdown Sunday morning at 11:30 a.m. with Patriots GameDay on WBZ-TV and streaming on CBSBoston.com! After the game, switch over to Patriots 5th Quarter on TV38 for full reaction and analysis.
