Patriots discussion: Dion Lewis, x-factors and more

Hello and welcome to another Musket Fire Roundtable New England Patriots discussion. Listen in as the Musket Fire fellas go back and forth on Patriots discussion topics such as x-factors on both sides of the ball, AFC East contenders and more. We start with a fan favorite…

"Connor Fulton – Should we get our hopes up about Dion Lewis after his appearance back at practice this week or do you guys think that he will never be the same player after the tragic ACL tear?"

Kirk von Kreisler – I’m definitely already getting my hopes up about Lewis’ progression. From the reports that I’ve seen, he’s recovering well from his injury, and even though it is typically a season-ending injury, we’ve seen tons of players fully recover. ACL injuries are always devastating to players and teams, but the ability of an incredible amount of players to bounce back so quickly from such a horrific injury is remarkable. Lewis was on the field during minicamp trying to lose some of the rust, and as others have said, Belichick and the organization will be extremely cautious deciding when Lewis is ready to return to the field full-time. I think it’s too soon to decide how Lewis will fare next season following the injury, but Lewis is no stranger to rough injuries. Lewis overcame a broken leg in 2013, but it took time to become the playmaker he was last season. I think it’s a stretch to say that he won’t be the same as he was last season, and due to the success of doctors and trainers in dealing with these injuries today, I think he will return, in time, to be an explosive threat on the Patriots’ offense.

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Jaydeen Allen – The possibility of Dion Lewis coming back as the same player we saw last is likely. Some players do and some players don’t, however, Gronkowski for instance tore his ACL and MCL in 2013, and came back to have monster seasons in 2014 and 2015. Dion Lewis may not be a freak of nature like Gronk, but he is definitely a special, especially with the ball in his hands. He may not be on the field for Week 1 for precautionary reasons, and it would be smart to keep him off the field until he is 100%, but whenever he does return, he will be a great boost to an already dominant Patriots offense.

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Hal Bent – While the sight of Dion Lewis on the practice field participating in the OTAs is encouraging, there is still a long way to go from practice to playing. Once the pads go on in July will be the next chance to evaluate Lewis.

While modern medicine allows for players to come back from these knee issues sooner than ever, expect New England to take it slow with Lewis.

Lewis will need to be managed throughout camp and likely have very limited–if any–snaps in the preseason.

Lewis–like almost every athlete coming back from this kind of knee injury–will have to take things slower than he would like. With the dynamic athleticism such a part of his game, he may not be back to full strength and back to the Lewis of 2015 until the 2017 season. With Bill Belichick treating September like an extension of the preseason the last few seasons, do not expect to see Lewis taking back his full role until October at the earliest.

Next: Kirk talks x-factors on both sides of the ball