Antonio

Gibson

He won’t be back after tearing his ACL in Week 5. Gibson ran well when healthy and is in line to come back for the final year of a three-year, $11.25 million contract he signed with the Patriots in 2024. Head coach Mike Vrabel seemed to think highly of Gibson given that he vultured quite a few carries from TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson. It’s probably fairly likely that he’ll be back in Pats camp in 2026.

The Patriots wasted little time ruling Gibson out for the remainder of Sunday’s game after he exited in the second quarter following a hard hit to his legs. Gibson is in the second year of a three-year contract he signed with the Patriots last offseason. Serving as the Patriots’ primary kick returner, the sixth-year back also rushed 25 times for 106 yards and a touchdown this season, and will hopefully be back in time for training camp next season.

Gibson was hit low on a kickoff return in the second quarter and remained down on the field as the two teams scrambled to gain possession of his fumble. He was not carted off and there was no immediate update passed by the broadcast team, but the area of the leg he was grabbing is typically indicative of ligament stress in the knee. It would be shocking if he returned to the game in Week 5. Gibson took six carries for 21 yards and caught his lone target for five yards prior to departing, with the increase in workload induced by yet another lost fumble by Rhamondre Stevenson.

The Pats stuck with their three-back rotation, this time in a victory. Gibson did remain the clear-cut No. 3 behind Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson, but he still got to 20 percent of the snaps. Gibson isn’t creating his own fantasy value, but he is taking a bite out of Stevenson and Henderson’s. The Bills are as soft as it gets for a run D matchup in Week 5, so do not expect the Pats to fix what they do not believe to be broken.

Backup RB Antonio Gibson went second and incumbent starter RB Rhamondre Stevenson went last. Both Gibson (one) and Stevenson (two) fumbled in the Patriots’ Week 3 loss to the Steelers. Henderson, meanwhile, avoided fumbling and led the backfield in offensive snaps, early-down snaps and two-minute drill snaps, per PFF’s Nathan Jahnke. Three-player backfields are difficult to trust in fantasy. It will be worth following head coach Mike Vrabel’s comments on the matter in the lead-up to the Patriots’ Week 4 game against the Panthers. This could be a breakout game for Henderson.

Rhamondre Stevenson put the ball on the ground twice. The Pats replaced him with Gibson following his second fumble of the day. Gibson lasted two carries before coughing up a fumble of his own. Rookie TreVeyon Henderson saw the bulk of the snaps after Gibson’s fumble. Gibson had a chance to carve out a larger role after Stevenson was benched. He blew the opportunity and is unlikely to be a relevant fantasy option for Week 4.

Gibson took a kick return 90 yards for a score to definitively give the Patriots the lead in the fourth quarter. The veteran saw six touches on offense, second behind Rhamondre Stevenson. Most notably, Gibson rotated into the game when the Patriots were in the red zone, getting a few red zone touches. The Pats backfield is frustrating for fantasy purposes now, with Stevenson the lead back, TreVeyon Henderson the eventual heir, and Gibson coming in for red zone opportunities. Despite the Week 2 return touchdown, Gibson remains off the fantasy radar for now.

Rhamondre Stevenson has 154 career receptions to his name, while Antonio Gibson, who remains on the roster, has 195 catches of his own. That said, head coach Mike Vrabel said adding a “young runner is potentially something we would like to do” when asked about addressing the position in this year’s draft, and Reiss believes a pass-catching back could be the focus for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Stevenson struggled last season after signing a four-year, $36 million deal, and while he’s expected to be the lead back for 2025, it’s fair to say the 27-year-old back doesn’t look like the same player who totaled 1,461 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns in 2022. In a class that is rich with running back talent, a more explosive back who could provide more upside in the passing game could help an offense that’s hoping to improve on its 30th-ranked finish last season.

Gibson ends his first season in New England with 538 rushing yards on 120 carries while adding 206 receiving yards on 23 receptions (29 targets). It was a bit disappointing that Gibson finished the season with 12 fewer targets in the passing game than Rhamondre Stevenson despite that seemingly being a weakness in Stevenson’s game. Gibson did average 4.48 yards per carry in his limited duties and has enough wiggle to make defenders miss in the open field; however, he’s now been on two mediocre football teams and has been unable to carve out a consistently fantasy-relevant role, which makes it hard to view him as anything more than a potential injury replacement for Stevenson in deeper fantasy formats.

Gibson also did not catch his sole target. After head coach Jerod Mayo said before the game that Gibson would start, Rhamondre Stevenson wound up starting in what Mayo called a “coach’s decision” after the game. Despite Mayo’s uncertainty over his running backs, Gibson out-touched Stevenson 12 to two on the day, with a few carries coming down 33 points on the final drive of the game. Gibson gets FLEX consideration in a shaky Pats offense for Week 18 against the Bills.