20 hours Ago By Bernd Buchmasser
Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images Hasty will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. The New England Patriots have already restructured their coaching staff for the second consecutive offseason. Now it is time for the real work with an expected overhaul of the roster coming.
Free agency will be a key part of this process. And while adding external players to the mix will undoubtably happen with upwards of $130 million in projected cap space, there are also a few in-house free agents to be taken care of. Following a series of moves, 12 remain in need of a new contract prior to free agency.
Among them is running back JaMycal Hasty, the next player in our free agency profile series.Hard factsName: JaMycal HastyPosition: Running back/Kickoff returnerOpening day age: 28 (9/12/1996)Size: 5’8”, 205 lbsJersey number: 39Free agency status: Unrestricted free agent (UFA)ExperienceNFL teams: San Francisco 49ers (2020-21), Jacksonville Jaguars (2022-23), New England Patriots (2023-24)Coming off a solid four-year career at Baylor, which saw him register 2,483 scrimmage yards and score 16 touchdowns, Hasty did not hear his name called in the 2020 NFL Draft. Instead, he joined San Francisco as a rookie free agent who began his career on the practice squad.
He did eventually make his way onto the 53-man roster and appeared in 22 total games over his two years with the club, but injuries limited his impact.Ahead of the 2022 season, the Jaguars claimed him off waivers following his release from the 49ers. Hasty delivered the most productive season of his career in his first year in Jacksonville — 66 touches, 320 yards, 3 touchdowns — but he failed to duplicate on his success and was let go again late during the 2023 regular season.
The Patriots claimed him off waivers, and ended up using him as a depth running back and kickoff return option. Overall, he has a combined 187 regular season and playoff touches for 903 yards and 6 scores as well as 29 kickoff returns for a 20.6-yard average on his 62-game career résumé.
2024 reviewStats: 15 games (0 starts) | 107 offensive snaps (9.8%), 131 special teams snaps (30%) | 20 carries, 69 yards (4.5/carry) | 12 targets, 10 catches, 59 yards (5.
9/catch), 1 TD | 10 kickoff returns, 238 yards (23.8/return)Season recap: Appearing in only two games for the Patriots during the 2023 season, Hasty entered 2024 firmly on the roster bubble. Despite that and the team signing both Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson to multi-year contracts during the offseason, he managed to find his way onto the 53-man roster as a third option alongside them.
In that role, he saw his playing time fluctuate throughout the year. While he was on the field for a third of offensive snaps in both Week 6 and Week 7, he also saw no offensive playing time in five games (including two spent as a game day inactive). In total, he finished the year with only 107 snaps played and as the clear RB3 behind Stevenson and Gibson.
Even with the former struggling with ball security and the team seemingly having a hard time figuring out how to properly incorporate the latter, Hasty never emerged past depth status. As a result, he ended the year touching the ball just 30 times for 128 yards and a touchdown reception in that aforementioned Week 7 game against Jacksonville.Hasty’s most consistent impact came on special teams, where he saw action on three units and played at least 15 percent of snaps in all of his 15 games.
He most prominently served as a kickoff returner and finished the season with a team-high 10 returns for an average of 23.8 yards per runback. However, his days in that role were numbered: New England inserted practice squad pickup Alex Erickson as their primary kickoff return option down the stretch, and he outperformed Hasty on a per-return basis, averaging 26.
5 yards per attempt.Free agency previewWhat is his contract history? Even though he never emerged past a rotational role during his stints in San Francisco, Jacksonville and New England, Hasty has received regular contractual opportunities. As a result of that, his career earnings are estimated at $5 million by Over The Cap — a significant part coming from the two-year, $2.
9 million extension he signed with the Jaguars in 2023, that was picked up by the Patriots when they claimed him off waivers.Which teams might be in the running? The running back position has been devalued over the last decade, which means that no team will pay top dollar for a 28-year-old who has not been able to earn a regular role in a rotation the last two years. That said, teams such as the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers or Minnesota Vikings might still be interested in adding Hasty to their current running back rooms.
Why should he be expected back? The Patriots currently have three running backs under contract, but questions remain whether or not youngster Terrell Jennings can be a viable complement to Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson. At the very least, Hasty would give New England an experienced third option with some special teams expertise as well.Why should he be expected to leave? Depth running backs get treated a dime a dozen in the NFL, and Hasty seems to fall in that category as well after a relatively quiet tenure in New England.
Instead of investing in him, the team could therefore look to the draft or the sophomore Jennings to get rotational contributions both at a lower cost and with a higher developmental upside.What is his projected free agency outcome? The Patriots, now under a new coaching staff, will decide against re-signing Hasty for the 2025 season.What do you think about JaMycal Hasty heading into free agency? Is he indeed a goner? Or will the Patriots use a minuscule part of their cap space to bring him back? Please head down to the comment section to discuss.
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