The New England Patriots’ running back room may not draw the loudest buzz when training camp opens, but the battle behind Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson could end up being one of the more intriguing competitions on the roster.
The real question is simple: who grabs the RB3 job?
Lan Larison, the undrafted rookie from a year ago, has started to flash this spring. Jam Miller and Myles Montgomery are also in the mix after joining the team through the draft and undrafted free agency, respectively. But there’s a strong case for the player who’s already been around the block in New England: Terrell Jennings.
Jennings has spent the past two seasons hanging around the edge of the roster, and he’s done it by being exactly the kind of player coaches tend to keep close. He runs hard, he holds up in pass protection, and he contributes on special teams. What he hasn’t done yet is stick on an initial 53-man roster, with his NFL experience coming through practice squad call-ups.
That could change this year.
The 25-year-old was elevated often last season and even scored his first career touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons. With injuries piling up in the Patriots’ backfield, it looked like Jennings might finally carve out a real role. Instead, a concussion knocked him out and brought his second season to an early end.
Now, entering his third year, Jennings is the only backup on the roster who has actually played in a regular-season NFL game. He’s also been working with the first-team punt unit, which is a meaningful sign for his roster hopes.
Even if Stevenson and Henderson are viewed as the top two, the Patriots aren’t treating any job as untouchable.
"You should never be content and comfortable, because in this league anybody can take a job at any point," running backs coach Tony Dews said this spring. "We’ve seen it through the years, and then obviously if you play this game, there’s a 100 percent chance that you’re going to fall into some type of injury at this point, and the idea is if someone gets dinged up, that there’s not a drop-off when the next person has to play."
Jennings’ path is pretty clear: keep showing he can do whatever the staff asks. He handled special teams work during his time on the active roster last season, including making tackles on kickoff against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football.
That kind of value matters, especially with last year’s personal protector, Marte Mapu, now with the Houston Texans.
On offense, Jennings isn’t built to dance around defenders. He’s forced just one missed tackle since entering the league. His game is more straightforward than flashy, built around downhill work between the guards and solid early-down snaps.
It worked for him in seven games last season, and it can work again in 2026. The question is whether Jennings can make that happen this summer.
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For New England, the appeal is obvious enough: Shaw gives the staff a different kind of presence to evaluate as the roster starts to take shape after the draft. The question is whether that frame and background can translate into enough disruption to keep him in the mix for a spot on the 53-man roster, especially with the competition at defensive tackle only getting tighter as camp approaches. [Read more 🡒]