After being recruited to play for California, Vereen redshirted for the 2007 season. In 2008, he served as the primary backup to Jahvid Best as part of Cal's two running back system, playing in all of the team's 13 games. In the season opener against Michigan State, he rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown. The game marked the first time that two Cal running backs had completed over 100 yards rushing since the 2006 Holiday Bowl, with Best tallying 111 yards in the victory. For the season, he rushed for 715 yards and 4 touchdowns, along with 27 catches for 221 yards and a touchdown. After Best suffered a severe concussion versus Oregon State, Vereen took over the job of primary running back for the final four games of the 2009 season. In the 2009 Big Game against Stanford, Vereen rushed a career-high 42 times for 193 yards and three touchdowns, helping Cal upset Stanford 34-28. For the season, Vereen rushed for 952 yards and 12 touchdowns, along with 25 receptions for 244 yards and two touchdowns. He also competed on the track team during the 2009 season in the 100 metres. In the 2010 season opener against UC Davis on September 4, Vereen had 67 rushing yards for two touchdowns, with a third receiving in a 52–3 blowout victory. He followed this up with 60 rushing yards and one score as well as a receiving touchdown the following week against Colorado. On September 17 he had a career-high 198 rushing yards and three touchdowns as Cal fell to Nevada in Reno, and 102 rushing yards while being kept out of the end zone in a narrow loss to Arizona on September 25. On October 9, Vereen had a 151-yard rushing performance with two touchdowns against UCLA. He finished the season with 1,167 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns to go with 22 catches for 209 yards and three touchdowns. After graduating in December 2010 in three and a half years with a degree in Media Studies, Vereen decided to forgo his senior season and declared for the NFL Draft.
Vereen was selected by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft with the 56th overall pick. He was signed to a four-year contract by the Patriots on August 1, 2011. On November 21, Vereen scored his first career NFL touchdown on a four-yard run in a 34–3 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Overall, he finished his rookie season with 57 rushing yards and a touchdown. On November 22, 2012, Thanksgiving night, Vereen caught an 83-yard touchdown reception in a 49–19 rout of the New York Jets. The catch is currently the longest of his career. Overall, in the 2012 season, he finished with 251 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, 149 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown. In the Patriots' first game of the 2012 NFL Playoffs, against the Houston Texans, Vereen had a career day: he had five receptions for 83 yards, scoring touchdowns on two of them. He also added a third touchdown on one of his 7 rushes for 41 yards. Vereen became only the second player in Patriots postseason history, joining Deion Branch, to score both a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the same postseason game. In addition, he became only the third player in NFL history, joining Roger Craig and Ricky Watters, to score two receiving touchdowns and one rushing touchdown in a postseason game. In the AFC Championship against the Baltimore Ravens, he was limited to 16 rushing yards and 22 receiving yards in the 28–13 loss to the eventual Super Bowl XLVII champions. In Week 14 of the 2013 season, against the Cleveland Browns, he had 153 receiving yards and a rushing touchdown in the 27–26 victory. Overall, in the 2013 season, he finished with 47 receptions, 427 receiving yards, three receiving touchdowns, 208 rushing yards, and one rushing touchdown. In the 2014 season, Vereen finished with 391 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, 447 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns. On February 1, 2015, Vereen caught a game-high 11 passes for 64 yards and won Super Bowl XLIX over the Seattle Seahawks for his first Super Bowl championship.
On March 10, 2015, Vereen signed with the New York Giants. In his first season with the Giants, he finished with 260 rushing yards, 495 receiving yards, and four receiving touchdowns. On September 27, 2016, Vereen was placed on injured reserve with a triceps injury. He was activated off injured reserve on December 10, 2016 prior to Week 14 against the Cowboys. On December 20, 2016, he was placed back on injured reserve after re-injuring his triceps. In limited time due to injury in the 2016 season, he finished with 158 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, and 94 receiving yards. In the 2017 season, Vereen finished with 164 rushing yards and 253 receiving yards but did not record a touchdown for the first time in his career.
On July 18, 2018, Vereen signed with the New Orleans Saints. He was placed on injured reserve on September 1, 2018 and was later released with an injury settlement.
