From the start of the season, the New England Patriots put a heavy emphasis on the run game. So it was no secret that Rhamondre Stevenson was going to have a very heavy workload. 

While he had a strong performance in the season opener, a worrisome habit has become very apparent across the four games so far. In each one, Rhamondre Stevenson has fumbled the football. 

So because of that, Jerod Mayo might be considering a change. And Antonio Gibson would be the next man up. 

"That's definitely under consideration," Mayo told reporters when asked about possibly giving Gibson the start. "I've had multiple conversations with Rhamondre. But look, we can't preach that ball security is job security and still have him out there the majority of the time. So, I think it sends a stronger message to the players that there are certain things that we just can't do to win, especially with the team that we have today."

So with that, A to Z Sports spoke exclusively with Gibson to hear what he has to say about all this. 

"I feel like they believed in me since I got here. (Rhamondre) is the guy, but they've been treating me well – still getting me involved, believing in me despite past history," he said. "But just to go in there and get that start, I've prepared for it. I'm ready for it, so it's not much of a change." 

In the past two seasons with the Commanders before he moved to New England, Gibson saw a steady decline in his production. Specifically in the final year, he finished with only 65 carries for 265 rushing yards. For reference, in 2021, he had 258 carries for 1,037 rushing yards. 

So, he knew that he was capable of much more. 

While Stevenson has come under fire in the past few weeks due to the fumbling issues, Gibson came to his fellow running backs defense. He specifically referenced how helpful Stevenson has been.

"He's helped me out a lot," he said. Just seeing how patient he runs, how he finds the holes. I've been watching him a lot. And it's helped me honestly just to be able to see that and to be able to add on to his game and help me out. It's been good."

Gibson also took a moment to send a message to Stevenson. 

"I've been there, done that," he told A to Z Sports. "If you look back on my second year, I led the league with seven, which overall it wasn't a crazy lot, but because I led, I got trashed. All the negative comments. I had the media coming up to me, like, 'how do you fix it?' 

"It's nothing to fix. We've been playing the game for so long. It's just hold on to the ball. Sometimes it's unfortunate, but just try to block out all the noise."

So Gibson isn't worried about Stevenson at all. 

"He's (Rhamondre). I told him during the game, 'we need you.' He's an explosive running back in this league and we need him in the game." 

He also took a moment to reflect on his short time with the Patriots and the areas he's improved in. 

"Just being more confidence," he began. "I think a lot of people don't realize, once coaches and the media are on your bad side, you start to doubt yourself, and that doubt creeps in and that affects your play. 

"It's been nothing but positive over here. It's helped me out, just to be able to play my game, know who I am, just continue to build off that positive energy. So I've been getting comfortable. You can start to see it. I'm not completely where I want to be yet, but I'm getting there."