It was, arguably, the high point of the Patriots‘ 2025 season, even higher than the three playoff wins and the AFC Championship Game victory in Denver. It was way back in Week 4, when the Patriots were just 2-2 and unimpressive in their first three September games before closing the month with a blowout of the Panthers.
But, playing on “Sunday Night Football,” New England went into Buffalo as heavy underdogs and defeated the Bills, the team that had won the AFC East for five straight years. It was a gritty, sometimes magical win, and it was No. 2 in what would become a 10-game wining streak that announced the team’s arrival as a contender in the AFC.
While there was much gushing over the win, though, there was a sad footnote. Veteran running back Antonio Gibson, who had been a team leader through the difficult 2024 season that ended at 4-13 and who had earned the trust of coach Mike Vrabel, tore his ACL and was carted off the field in tears.
Antonio Gibson Was Critical in the Early Going
That ended Gibson’s season and his participation in the Patriots’ Super Bowl run. And it may have ended his Patriots career, too.
Patriots beat reporter Mike Reiss of ESPN noted on Wednesday that, after signing Elijah Mitchell to a futures contract–Mitchell had been on the team’s practice squad for much of the season–New England now has six backs on hand. That means Gibson might fall off the roster, because he has no guaranteed money in 2026.
Wrote Reiss on Twitter/X:
“RBs under contract for 2026:
- Rhamondre Stevenson
- TreVeyon Henderson
- Antonio Gibson
- Terrell Jennings
- Elijah Mitchell
- Lan Larison
“NOTE: Gibson, coming back from torn ACL, enters the final year of contract. No guaranteed money remaining. $2.85m salary/$4.5m cap.”
And at Spotrac, Gibson is also projected as a player the Patriots will release: “A torn ACL, plus the emergence of Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson as a 1-2 punch likely pushes Gibson out of the picture in 2026. New England can free up $3.5M of space by moving on.”
Patriots Got Running Game on Track, Eventually
Gibson, of course, was a valuable piece not only as a third running back but as a kick returner. His return for a touchdown in Miami in Week 2 rescued a game that had been going sideways for the Patriots and might well have saved the team from an 0-3 start.
Gibson was also a good insurance policy for the Patriots in the early going, when Henderson struggled to find consistency and really struggled with pass protection. Stevenson was a major question mark, too, because he followed up his seven-fumble performance in 2024 by fumbling three times in the first five games, including in the Buffalo win.
In all, Gibson had 25 carries for 106 yards on the season, but there were suggestions that he would be getting more touches in the wake of Stevenson’s ball-security problems.
An underrated part of the Patriots’ season was the fact that Stevenson changed his style and returned to form as a No. 1 back–and didn’t fumble again after Week 5. That helped reduce the blow of the loss of Gibson, who might need to find a new team altogether now.
Patriots Projected to Cut Ties With Injured Playmaker