Continuing their busy afternoon of transactions, the New England Patriots on Tuesday locked up running back James White with a three-year contract extension, a league source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
White was set to become a free agent after the 2017 season. Now, his new deal will keep him under contract until 2021.
A fourth-round draft pick of the Patriots in 2015, White played in all 16 games this past season for the first time in his career. Though his regular-season rushing numbers were nothing spectacular (39 carries, 166 yards, zero touchdowns), he had the best receiving season of any running back during the Bill Belichick era, catching 60 passes for 551 yards and five touchdowns.
White’s best performance came on the NFL’s biggest stage. He caught 14 passes for 110 yards and one touchdown, and also carried the ball six times for 29 yards and two more scores to help lead the Patriots past the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
The Patriots currently have five running backs under contract for the 2017 season (White, Dion Lewis, Rex Burkhead, Brandon Bolden and D.J. Foster) and soon could add another, as they extended a two-year, $6.4 million offer sheet to restricted free agent Mike Gillislee on Tuesday.
Thumbnail photo via Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports Images
