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Patriots, RB Rhamondre Stevenson agree to 4-year extension

Thu Jun 20 4:12pm ET
Field Level Media

Running back Rhamondre Stevenson and the New England Patriots have agreed to extend his contract for four years and $36 million, including $17 million guaranteed, ESPN and NFL Network reported on Thursday.

Stevenson, 26, is slated to earn a base salary of $3.116 million in the final year on his rookie contract, which he signed after the Patriots selected him in the fourth round of the 2021 draft. His extension takes him through the 2028 season.

He told reporters earlier this month that the sides were "pretty close" to getting a deal done.

"It's not frustrating, but it's just a long process," he said on June 10. "This is my first time going through it, but just hearing from all the other guys, this is how it goes. It's a negotiation process, and I'm respecting the process."

Last season, Stevenson suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 13 and sat out the rest of a 4-13 campaign. In 12 games, he rushed for 619 yards and four touchdowns and caught 38 passes for 238 yards.

In 41 games (21 starts) over three seasons, the 6-foot, 227-pound Oklahoma product has 2,265 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns along with 121 catches for 782 yards and one receiving score.

Stevenson shared the backfield with veteran Ezekiel Elliott last season, but Elliott rejoined the Dallas Cowboys this offseason. This spring, former Washington Commanders running back Antonio Gibson is in the fold after signing a three-year, $11.25 million deal, but Stevenson remains the starter.

"I think he's one of the better backs in the league, no doubt about it," first-year Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said of Stevenson at the Patriots' mandatory minicamp two weeks ago. "I'm excited to see what he does this season, and look, he's earned everything that he gets. He is our starting running back and, hopefully, we do get something done."

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Player Notes
Garrett Wilson Jul 3 6:40pm CT
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New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson is ready to put a rough season behind him and bounce back in a big way this fall. According to Rich Cimini of ESPN, Wilson expressed that during the offseason, he had to "Get my feet back under me and my head right." The Ohio State product was very frustrated at the conclusion of last season and even referred to it as "The worst year of my life." In 2023, Wilson posted his second consecutive 1000-yard season, but the poor play of the Jets hurt his confidence and caused great frustration, which was often shown in public. Over his first two seasons in New York, Wilson caught passes from six different quarterbacks, which greatly affected his rhythm and ability to develop. The 23-year-old will have a great opportunity to enjoy a big season with a healthy Aaron Rodgers throwing to him, which makes him a consensus first-round selection in all drafts this summer and a strong candidate to finish near the top among all receivers.

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Xavier Worthy Jul 3 6:30pm CT
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Kansas City Chiefs wide receivers Xavier Worthy and Marquise Brown are expected to bring big plays back to the Kansas City offense this season, according to Adam Teicher of ESPN. While the Chiefs finished the season with the seventh-most total passing yards last season, they were near the bottom with just eight plays of 40 yards or more. This is a significant reason why the Chiefs brought in veteran Marquise Brown, who finished near the top of all receivers last season with 84.6 air yards per game last season. In addition, with the 28th overall selection of this year's NFL Draft, the Chiefs selected Xavier Worthy from Texas, who set a new record in the 40-yard dash at the combine. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes expressed, "I think we've done a great job of mastering the intermediate and short stuff, but we want to get back to having that part of the offense as well." While it is currently unknown who will emerge as alpha in this wide receiver room amid a potential multi-game suspension for Rashee Rice, both of these wideouts will raise Mahomes' weekly ceiling due to their game-changing speed.

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Josh Jacobs Jul 3 6:10pm CT
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Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs recently appeared on the NFL Network's NFL Insiders program and expressed his great excitement about the potential of the Green Bay offense. The 26-year-old signed a four-year contract with Green Bay this offseason worth $48 million. Jacobs missed a few games last season but ended with 805 rushing yards and 296 through the air with six total touchdowns. The former Alabama product told the NFL Network, "I honestly think the sky is the limit in this offense." He further stated "To be able to see the game plan and things they want me that they want me to do this year, the things that they're allowing me to do, I just think it's going to be a special year." This could be a telling sign that Green Bay plans to use Jacobs in a potential three-down role, which would provide him with several scoring opportunities on a weekly basis. Jacobs currently sits with an ADP of 33 in standard leagues and has the potential to finish near the top of his position this season.

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D.J. Moore Jul 3 6:00pm CT
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Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore's current contract runs through the 2025 season, so nothing is urgent at this time, but he's currently 17th among wideouts in terms of average salary and is coming off a career year in his first year in Chicago in which he caught 96 passes on 136 targets for a career-high 1,364 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in 17 starts. Moore has become one of the faces of the franchise, and general manager Ryan Poles might want to reward him with a new deal sooner than later. Fellow receiver Keenan Allen will be a free agent after the 2024 season and is likely to enter the year on an expiring contract, as the Bears want to see what he has left at 32 before considering keeping him around beyond one year. Moore certainly has more competition for targets with Allen around now, but he's a pretty safe WR2 target this fall.

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J.J. McCarthy Jul 3 6:00pm CT
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Diontae Johnson Jul 3 5:40pm CT
Diontae Johnson

The Carolina Panthers made no move to extend wide receiver Diontae Johnson after trading for the former Pittsburgh Steelers wideout in March, as they prefer to see whether he emerges as the explosive, coverage-separating pass-catcher that quarterback Bryce Young and the offense lacked in 2023. If Johnson proves he's a difference-maker in his first year in Carolina and if he doesn't become a distraction when the ball doesn't come his way, he could be set to cash in next offseason in a receiver market that has exploded in recent years. The 27-year-old disappointed as Pittsburgh's top receiver last year, catching a career-low 51 passes for 717 yards and five touchdowns. Johnson will now be competing with veteran Adam Thielen for targets in what was the worst offense in the league last year. Most of Johnson's fantasy value will be tied to how much Young improves in Year 2. Consider Johnson a low-end WR3/high-WR4 target in fantasy drafts.

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Spencer Brown Jul 3 5:30pm CT
Spencer Brown

Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Spencer Brown was a question mark heading into last season after a rocky sophomore campaign. But the 2021 third-round pick answered with authority and played every single one of the team's 1,305 offensive snaps. Pro Football Focus charted him for only two more pressures than Pro Bowl left tackle Dion Dawkins. He's now entering the final year of his rookie contract. The Bills will have a lot of salary cap space next year after receiver Stefon Diggs' dead money clears, but Buffalo could save a lot by giving Brown an extension in the next few months and not letting him get close enough to free agency for him to get curious about testing the open market.

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Marlon Humphrey Jul 3 5:20pm CT
Marlon Humphrey

Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey still has three years remaining on the contract extension he signed with the team during the 2020 season. The 27-year-old is a three-time Pro Bowler, but he's struggled to stay healthy in two of the last three years and isn't consistently making the impactful plays he did earlier in his career. With his salary cap number rising north of $25 million next year, Humphrey probably needs a strong bounce-back season this fall to remain with the Ravens in 2025 and beyond. The former 16th overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft out of Alabama, Humphrey played in a career-low 10 games during the regular season in 2023 and finished with a career-low 26 tackles (22 solo), one interception and only five pass breakups.

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Saquon Barkley Jul 3 5:10pm CT
Saquon Barkley

The Philadelphia Eagles have a new offensive coordinator this year in Kellen Moore and will have a new bell-cow running back in Saquon Barkley. It's a big weapon to add to an offense that already includes one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the league in Jalen Hurts. The Eagles could utilize their tight ends more in 2024 in Moore's scheme as well. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler has talked to scouts that believe Barkley could see a similar boost that Christian McCaffrey had when he went to the San Francisco 49ers. Barkley is heading to a Philadelphia offense that has never had this kind of supporting cast around him. Injuries have been a concern with the 27-year-old, but if he stays healthy in his first year with the Eagles, Barkley's upside at the RB position is as high as any in the league as a strong RB1 target.

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Kwity Paye Jul 3 1:00pm CT
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Trey McBride Jul 3 12:30pm CT
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Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride is one of the most promising young players at the position in the NFL, and after catching 81 passes for 825 yards and four touchdowns in 2023, he is aiming for an even better season in 2024. One of McBride's personal goals for his third NFL campaign is to reach 1,000 yards receiving. "It was close last year," McBride said. "But I think that maybe it's realistic this year." The Colorado State product took part in "Tight End U" in Nashville hosted by Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Greg Olsen. Kittle, a five-time Pro Bowler, had great things to say about the Cardinals pass-catcher. "Trey McBride is a young guy who had a great year last year and is just going to keep getting better," Kittle said. McBride is being selected as a late-second-round pick in FFPC best ball drafts, which has tight-end premium scoring. He is in play to be the TE1 overall in 2024.

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Xavier Legette Jul 3 12:20pm CT
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Aidan O'Connell Jul 3 12:10pm CT
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Marvin Mims Jul 2 3:50pm CT
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Tashaun Gipson Jul 2 3:50pm CT
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The NFL issued a six-game suspension to free-agent safety Tashaun Gipson Sr. on Tuesday, according to NFL insider Ari Meirov. The cause for the suspension is unclear, but it will make his path toward finding a landing spot tougher as the 2024 season rapidly approaches. The 33-year-old has played in 173 career games for the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, Chicago Bears, and San Francisco 49ers and has racked up 684 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 33 interceptions, 67 pass deflections, and one forced fumble. He started for the 49ers in February's Super Bowl LVIII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Curtis Samuel Jul 2 3:20pm CT
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Kyler Murray Jul 2 3:00pm CT
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Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. was selected with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, meaning he has plenty of pressure on him to become a high-end blindside protector for quarterback Kyler Murray. Johnson was credited with giving up eight sacks last year while playing right tackle, according to PFF, but he's ready to make the Year 2 leap at his more natural position on the left side. "Yeah, I think personally, just Year 2, being able to fulfill all of the expectations that I have for myself, expectations that the team has for me being here," Johnson said. "My goal ultimately is to be the best tackle in the game." Johnson developing into at least an above-average left tackle in 2024 would be a significant boost for a potential ascending offense. Kyler Murray is back and healthy, and the team added Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey Benson to bolster its skill position group this offseason. Arizona could be an underrated offense for fantasy football.

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