New England Patriots: A crowded backfield could set up a surprise cut

The New England Patriots currently have a surplus of running backs in their backfield. Could this lead to a surprise cut?

It wasn’t too long ago that Dion Lewis came out of nowhere and became the most exciting offensive player for the New England Patriots.  Now that the Patriots have stocked up at the position, it is entirely possible that Lewis will be one of the surprising cuts in the preseason.

Plagued by injuries early and often, the 2011 draft pick finally broke out in 2015 in his first year with the Patriots.  In seven games he carried the ball 49 times for 234 yards and two touchdowns.  More importantly, Lewis caught 36 passes for 388 yards and two more scores.  Lewis was a walking highlight reel every time he touched the ball.

Unfortunately, Lewis tore his ACL in November of that season and missed the remainder of the year.

As is common with ACL injuries, Lewis was not healthy for the beginning of the following season.  When he did return to the field, he was not quite the electric player that he was the year prior.  That is to be expected as it generally takes a player another season to fully recover to the place they were before the injury.

That line of thinking would lead us to believe that in 2017 Lewis could play at the level he played in the first half of the 2015 season.  The question is if the Patriots feel that he is worth the time.

New England has been highly active in free agency at Lewis’ position.  According to spotrac.com,  The team signed free agent Rex Burkhead to a one year deal worth $3.15 million.  They have also signed Mike Gillislee to a two year deal worth $6.4 million.  On top of bringing in those guys, the team extended James White three more years worth $12 million.

The James White extension is the most significant when it comes to Dion Lewis.  Lewis had the most impact when catching balls out of the backfield.  After 14 catches for 110 yards in the Super Bowl, White has shown Belichick that he is more the capable of being the clear-cut receiving back in this offense.

Just going by the eye test, it is obvious that Lewis is more dynamic in space than White.  However, when White is able to produce the way he did in the Super Bowl, is it really worth dealing with the injury baggage that comes with Lewis?  Through five years Lewis has played in just 38 regular season games, less than two and a half seasons.

Lewis is entering the final year of his contract and is set to earn $1.2 million in base salary.  According to spotrac.com his cap hit is just shy of $1.5 million.

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• Musket Fire Roundup: Our own final predictions for round 1
• Breaking down the Patriots’ options in the 2023 NFL Draft

The writing may be on the wall for an early end to Lewis’ time in New England.  Burkhead and Gillislee have been brought in.  James White, Lewis’ main opponent for playing time, has just been extended through 2020.  There are surprising cuts in the preseason every year, and Dion Lewis is one of the more likely candidates in 2017.