From Rushing Leader To Free Agency: Jamaal Williams Works Out For Patriots

Jamaal Williams hasn’t taken an NFL handoff since January 2025. The New England Patriots just gave him a reason to keep training. The 2022 NFL rushing touchdowns leader was one of five free agents who worked out for New England on Tuesday in Foxboro, 98.5 The Sports Hub reported, citing NFL insider Ari Meirov. No signing had been reported as of Tuesday night. The timing isn’t a coincidence. Lead back Rhamondre Stevenson limped off with about a minute left in Sunday’s 29-26 win at Buffalo, and coach Mike Vrabel said Wednesday that Stevenson would not practice. The door isn’t closed on Sunday, though. “There’s a chance he could play,” Vrabel said, per Patriots Wire. Behind Stevenson, the Patriots (2-2) have only TreVeyon Henderson and Corey Kiner on the active roster, with Lan Larison on the practice squad. New England also had two open roster spots after releasing edge rusher Jose Ramirez on Tuesday, and it hosts the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. If Williams gets another shot, it’ll come four years after the best season of his career. In 2022, his second year in Detroit, he ran for 1,066 yards and an NFL-high 17 touchdowns, breaking Barry Sanders’ Lions record of 16. He set it at Lambeau Field, of all places. Williams scored twice against his former team in the regular-season finale, helping the Lions knock the Packers out of playoff contention. Then he gave one of the most memorable postgame interviews of the year, tearing up as he dedicated the night to his late great-grandfather before turning to the doubters and telling them to “stop playing with us.” That season was the outlier in a career built on being dependable. A fourth-round pick out of BYU in 2017, Williams led the Packers in rushing as a rookie and spent four years as Aaron Jones’ running mate in Green Bay before signing with Detroit in 2021. The 2022 breakout earned him a three-year, $12 million deal with the New Orleans Saints, but he managed just 470 rushing yards and two touchdowns over two seasons there before being released in March 2025. He still scored at least one rushing touchdown in all eight of his NFL seasons and has 4,122 career rushing yards and 32 touchdowns. Williams worked out for the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins in August 2025 but went unsigned and sat out the entire season. He has been knocking on doors since. Last month, Williams reached out to Lions coach Dan Campbell about a reunion, the Detroit Free Press reported. Campbell told him Detroit was set at running back for now but would keep him in mind. Now, at 31, he’s waiting to see if New England calls back.