Former New England Patriots running back James White seems optimistic about the team’s offensive backfield heading into the 2024 season.
The Patriots replaced Ezekiel Elliott with veteran running back Antonio Gibson in free agency. Gibson tallied 65 carries for 265 yards and a touchdown in 2023. He also showcased his talents as a receiving threat out of the backfield with 48 catches, 389 yards and two touchdowns.
Gibson was one of the main signings for a Patriots free agency that was largely focused on re-signing in-house talent.
Now the big question is, do the Patriots have enough at the position? White appeared on the Eye on Foxborough podcast with MassLive’s Karen Guregian and Chris Mason on Thursday and shared his thoughts.
“I believe they have enough,” said White. “Rhamondre’s a guy who can play the majority of the snaps. Obviously, that may have some sort of effect on his health throughout the year like it did last season. He’s a guy who can play first, second, third down, wherever you need him to be.
“You bring a guy like Antonio Gibson with that versatile change-of-pace guy, kind of like myself, who can run the football as well, but he can run routes out of the backfield, and create the mismatches, just like Rhamondre.”
The duo of Stevenson and Gibson in the backfield will be important for an offense that is going to have to run the football. It will be interesting to see how the Patriots do with this new-look running back tandem.