Five weeks in, the New England Patriots saw their first major injury of the 2025 NFL season. Antonio Gibson, one of the team’s two primary kickoff returners and the lone man in the league to a run a kickoff back for a touchdown this season, suffered a torn ACL on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.
Gibson being out for the remainder of the year means that the Patriots will have to find somebody else to fill his role. Special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer did not present any names during a press
conference at Gillette Stadium on Thursday, but he still gave some insight at his team’s plans.
“It’s big,” he said about Gibson going down. “It was unfortunate to lose him. He was such a vital part of what we’ve been doing and a great leader in the backend with a lot of experience. So, it’s the next man up. That’s the way the mentality is in football and all sports.
“It’s next man up and we’re getting those guys ready to rock and roll. Hopefully, having him around he can still provide that leadership that he’s done so well in the last two years.”
Before his injury, Gibson ran back 12 kickoffs for 342 yards and an average of 28.5 yards per return. His most notable play was a 90-yard touchdown against the Miami Dolphins in Week 2.
The Patriots also have used fellow running back TreVeyon Henderson in the return game so far this season. Aligning as the second deep man next to Gibson, the rookie has returned seven kickoffs so far for 154 yards and a 22-yard average.
“He’s been a vital vital asset of being that other returner for us,” Springer said of Henderson. “When they kick it to him, he’s got the opportunity to return the ball. So, when he gets the ball in his hands, we expect him to do big things and he’s always got that one-play ability to take it all the way, as we’ve seen before.”
As Springer alluded to, Henderson will continue filling one of the return spots moving forward. Who the other will go to, meanwhile, remains to be seen.
Against Buffalo, Rhamondre Stevenson was called up to take over for Gibson. The Patriots’ starting running back fielded two kickoffs and ran them back for a combined 40 yards. He seems like a realistic candidate to keep that job heading into Week 6 against the New Orleans Saints, but Springer pointed out that the club will try to remain flexible.
“Everyone on our depth’s got to have a role in the return game if you’re a receiver or a running back,” he said. “You’re always looking at all those guys, whether it’s running back, receiver, they’re all going to be back there and then week by week you’re just trying to find out who’s your best two to go into this game with it. Who do you feel most confident with, and you roll from right there.
“But I think both got to be ready. You always like a bigger guy back there because they’re taking hits now — a lot of hits — because you’re covering every kick. But at the same time, you can’t miss out on a guy’s dynamic ability to be able to do what you want him to do in terms of the return and go from there.”
