We continue our roster review/free agent preview. This weekend, we turn our attention to the running back position. The Patriots were 21st in rushing DVOA, but a late-season surge had them climb up the ranks in the more traditional measurements. They were 6th in rushing yards per game and produced the 4th most rushing touchdowns in the league (22). That success carried into the postseason, right up until the Super Bowl when, well, the Pats picked a fine time to play their worst game of the year (on all fronts).
Running backs: Rhamondre Stevenson, TreVeyon Henderson, Antonio Gibson, Lan Larison, Terrell Jennings, Elijah Mitchell
I’m not sure how anyone could have watched the Patriots this season and not think Stevenson was one of their most valuable players. He overcame his case of fumbilitis and became a reliable, consistent cog in the offense. Stevenson finished 7th amongst running backs who logged at least 175 carries (including playoffs) in yards after contact, averaging 3.47 yards (De’Von Achane was 1, Bijan Robinson 2, Derrick Henry 3, Jonathan Taylor5).
His value wasn’t just in the run game. He became the team’s most trusted back in pass protection by a long shot, and as the season bled into January and February, Stevenson rarely came off the field.
“He's a great example for any young player," Josh McDanielssaid of Stevenson. "I hope they’re paying attention, because it’s hard to go through a season in the National Football League and not deal with some personal adversity on or off the field. But then you have to be a professional. Do your job. Improve in that area. And then eventually, you’re gonna get on the other side of that."
Stevenson did that. Meanwhile, the man he shared the backfield with, Henderson, had some moments where he looked every bit like a first-round running back who didn’t get picked until day two. He finished with 911 yards (5.1 YPC) and 9 rushing touchdowns. Henderson added 36 receptions and another TD. You look at those numbers and think ‘future superstar.’
However, the former Ohio State product left way too many yards on the field, mostly because he doesn’t see it as well as he needs to. It was maddening, if we're being fully transparent. Can that improve? That’s right near the top of his to-do list for year two. And right next to it is Henderson’s pass blocking. He came out of college as the best in class in that regard. It did not translate to the pro game. I’m not a big PFF grade guy (as you well know), but Henderson rated 59th out of 67 backs who played at least 20% of the snaps and allowed three sacks (only Alvin Kamarayielded more). That dovetails with how the Pats used him. The 23-year-old had only 12 pass-blocking reps after week 12 (9 games), whereas Stevenson had 25 in the playoffs alone.
Feels like Gibson is in trouble. He’s coming off the torn ACL suffered in week five at Buffalo, and while he’s progressing nicely with his rehab, he’s on the books for $4.14 million in 2026 and gets an additional 30K for every game he’s active. That’s not going to send the Kraft family to the poorhouse, but he would clearly enter camp as the third back. Is the team better off releasing him, saving $3.1 million against the cap, and letting someone cheaper try and win the job? They can always find a veteran back on the waiver wire on cut-down day if you don’t like what you see out of Larison et al.
Speaking of, I know there were a number of you who saw Larison’s collegiate tape and decided he was an uncut gem ready to sparkle at the NFL level. We have no idea if that was misguided optimism or something else. The UDFA broke his foot in the preseason opener against Washington and spent the rest of the year on IR. In the brief time we got to watch him practice, I saw good acceleration to the hole and through, and good pad level. Larison’s vision was a question mark, and the limited NFL sample size was too small for me to tell whether that assessment was spot-on or overstated. But he should get a chance to show more this spring and especially this summer.
Jennings has appeared in 10 games over the past two seasons for the Pats and scored his only NFL TD in the win over the Falcons in week 9. He also added some special teams value. Jennings is a physical runner and a value-add in the locker room.
In 2021, Mitchell looked like he might be a future star. He had 5 100-yard games for San Francisco, and fell just short of 1,000 yards on the season (963). But injuries have defined his career since. Mitchell had knee and shoulder ailments that cost him significant time with the 49ers in ‘22 and ‘23, then needed hamstring surgery, which wiped out all of ‘24. He’s appeared in just one game since (1 target, 0 catches for KC last season).
FREE AGENTS
There are some good backs available. I just don’t know that the Pats will spend any real money on one. So, I’m bypassing the top tier (Kenneth Walker, Breece Hall, Travis Etienne, Rico Dowdle, Tyler Allgeier, Javonte Williams) for guys who won’t cost much in terms of dollars or commitment.
Of course, I’ve been wrong before.
fonzie wr https://t.co/R2eAR9fRGE via @YouTube— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) February 16, 2026
1. Brian Robinson(26 years old, SF) - If you want to add another hammer to the backfield, Robinson would do the trick. He’s 6’2”, 228 pounds, and he has no fear of sticking his nose into unwelcoming piles. Robinson averaged 3.03 yards after contact in a sub role for the 49ers after being at 3 the year before in Washington. He’s also got life in his legs (and shoulders, back, and hips), having never played more than 618 snaps in a single season (he’s four years in). PFF estimates $2.75 million for one year.
2. Isiah Pacheco(25 years old, KC) - After bursting onto the scene as a 7th-round rookie who ran angry for the champion Chiefs and looking the same in year two (with increased receiving duties - 44 catches), Pacheco has dealt with injuries and hasn’t been nearly as effective. Of course, neither has the Chiefs offense. Does the tape show that player still exists? He’s certainly young enough. Pacheco is solid in pass pro, a real plus. Then there’s this: he’s a Rutgers guy (do they still have a football program?) Think of how annoying Bedard would be. Come to think of it, I’m now wholeheartedly against this. PFF earmarks Pacheco for a one-year deal worth $2.25 million.
3. Michael Carter(26 years old, Arizona) - Ultimately, if the Pats want to add a 3rd down back, Carter would be where they should go. He’s not the biggest guy at 5’8”, but he stands his ground in blitz pickup, using all 201 of his pounds to defend his QB. Carter is good out of the backfield, and while it took the Cardinals a year to come around to that, he had 33 receptions in 2025 (and a career-high 41 for the Jets in 2022). Carter made $1.17 million last year. PFF has no projection, while Spotrac puts him at $3.1 million (I wouldn’t go that high).
Others of note: Austin Ekeler (coming off injury), Khalil Herbert (mostly a returner at this stage of his career).
FLOUNDERING FISH
After a disappointing 2025-26 season, the Dolphins are tearing it down to the studs. They fired the GM during the season, then walked away from head coach Mike McDanielseveral days after Black Monday (it was that kind of coaching cycle).
In McDaniel’s place is former Boston College head coach and, more recently, Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. He is going to have his work cut out for him after what the Fins did earlier this week.
They released Tyreek Hill, Bradley Chubb, James Daniels, and WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhinein the first wave of a roster purge. The cap savings aren’t immediately known (depending on whether Chubb is a pre- or post-June 1 cut).
That the Dolphins didn’t trade Chubb at the deadline when this was a fairly obvious offseason move was illogical then, and now even more so.
Hill never should have been on the team to begin with, after quitting the year prior and telling anyone who would listen that he wanted out. Instead, the Fins ran it back with the temperamental wideout and watched him suffer a left knee dislocation and multi-ligament tear, including to his ACL, in week four, and Hill was lost for the remainder of the year. The 31-year-old (he turns 32 in March) took to Instagram, writing, "The Cheetah don't slow down. Ever. So to everyone wondering what's next... just wait on it. The Cheetah will be back...Born Again."
There will be more moves from this new Miami front office, and the expectation is that QB Tua Tagovailoawill either be cut or traded. He has a $56 million cap hit and $54 million in guaranteed cash for 2026. To cut him outright would mean eating $99.2 million in cap charges. They could do it all in one fell swoop, or spread out that monstrosity over two seasons ($55.4 million in ‘26 and $43.8 million in ‘27). If the Dolphins choose the former option, can you say 'tanking'? Of course, they lived that life in 2019, but won more games under Brian Flores than expected and ended up with...wait for it...Tua.
MOVING ON?
Mike Evans has been a fixture for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but might this offseason lead to a change?
Evans’ agent has informed the Bucs he will play a 13th season. However, he is scheduled to be a free agent, and after Tampa missed the playoffs for the first time since 2020, the veteran wideout will seriously consider overtures to go elsewhere.
"He is opening it up," his agent, Deryk Gilmore, said in a statement to NFL Network. "He will play next season with someone. It could be Tampa. But he will definitely play a 13th season."
The last time Evans was in this spot, he decided to re-up with the only franchise he’s ever known. The 32-year-old - he’ll turn 33 in August - had his streak of 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons come to an end this year as he missed 10 games with a broken collarbone and a concussion.
There is an incentive for Tampa to find a way to retain his services. Evans’ most recent contract tacked on $13 million to the 2026 cap as part of a void year. It will take some fine bookkeeping by the Bucs front office to make that happen. They currently have just over $23 million in available cap space. Of course, they could turn over some couch cushions and find the necessary cash.
CAP IS CRAP?
With the stroke of a pen, the Chiefs somehow managed to gain an additional $43.56 million in cap space. And all it took was one player to find that big bag, Patrick Mahomes.
KC converted its quarterback’s base salary and a $10.4 million roster bonus into a fully guaranteed roster bonus, thereby lowering Mahomes’ cap number from $78 million to $34.6 million. Yes, that’s $11 million per all remaining years, but when Mahomes signed his mammoth extension in 2020, it had all these levers built in to help the Chiefs compete and stay cap-compliant.
That said, they’re still not there, needing to free up at least $11 million more. Chris Jones is likely to get his deal restructured as well, and there are a handful of veterans, including Mike Danna ($8.8 million) and Jawaan Taylor($19.5 million), who may find themselves on the chopping block.
BALD IS BEAUTIFUL
I don’t know if you’ve seen the Titans' new coaching staff, but there’s a trend that has nothing to do with scheme or the coaching trees these men come from. It’s the hair...or lack thereof. Nine of the hires, including head coach Robert Saleh, have no lettuce. I have nothing else to add to that part of the story, if you will.
I do, however, applaud the hire of one of those follically challenged coaches, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. He addressed the media for the first time since he was fired by the New York Giants last season, with a great deal of attention being put on his development of Josh Allen and, most recently, Jaxson Dart. With the Titans, he inherits the first overall pick in the 2025 draft, Cam Ward.
"I think every situation is unique," Daboll said. "Again, we've had some young quarterbacks previously with Josh and Jaxson at New York, but everybody's different. I don't want to just put him into a particular box. I think the most important thing is to first develop the relationship with the young man and then get a feel for how he's seeing the game. That's hard to do right now when you're not, you know, able to sit down and talk a lot of football.
"I always like to see the game through the quarterback's eyes and, again, there's gonna be mistakes out there that I think he's made on tape previous and he may have a completely different answer. So, that communication is really important. I learned that dealing with Josh, dealing with Jaxson, but been around some veteran quarterbacks. It's a hard position to play. It's easy to sit back there and say, 'What the hell did you do that for?' But until I can get that communication with him and go through these plays with a fine-toothed comb, iron out the details of it, we're a little bit aways from that."
Daboll spent a ton of time with Ward in the pre-draft process, and there were reports that the Giants were willing to give up multiple firsts to move from 3rd overall. The Titans chose to stand pat, picked Ward, and watched him throw for 3,169 yards, 15 TDs, and 7 INTs in his rookie campaign. Ward did get hurt in the season finale and is currently rehabbing a shoulder injury, but all signs point to a go this spring. His relationship with Daboll might be key in propelling the Titans back to relevance in the AFC.
