New England Patriots: Will loss of Blount leave a hole in offense?

The New England Patriots have seemingly moved on from former starting running back LeGarrette Blount. While he is busy entertaining offers from other teams as a free agent, will the Patriots end up missing him?

It’s hard to criticize Bill Belichick for personnel decisions he has made as general manager of the New England Patriots. Belichick’s moves on the field as head coach — and off it as GM — have led to five Super Bowl titles.

However, critics still scratched their heads when Belichick traded linebacker Jamie Collins last Halloween for a conditional third-round draft pick. The deal allowed Belichick the coach to play other younger defensive players such as Kyle Van Noy and Elandon Roberts more, and the team went on to win its fifth Super Bowl.

This offseason, Belichick the GM has decided to go with youth over experience as well in addressing the offensive backfield. He has inked two 26-year-old running backs in Rex Burkhead and Mike Gillislee rather than re-sign 30-year-old LeGarrette Blount. Many fans wanted Blount back, but there are obvious reasons why New England let him walk.

First of all, Blount carried the ball a career-high 299 times last season for a career-best 1,161 yards and scored a franchise-record 18 touchdowns for a back. But he also averaged just 3.9 yards per carry, the second-lowest of his seven-year career, and is virtually no threat in the passing game. Let’s not forget his poor performance in Super Bowl 51 either. Blount had 11 carries for 31 yards and a costly fumble when the Patriots were driving for their first score.

There’s no doubt that Blount was invaluable early in the regular season, That was especially true during Tom Brady’s four-game suspension when he rushed for 352 yards and four scores. In the playoffs though, it was Dion Lewis and James White who helped New England get to the Super Bowl and win it.

Next: 5 Reasons Why Pats Can Repeat as Champs

As Stephen Ur stated nearly two months ago here, losing Blount does not appear to be a big deal. And that was before Burkhead and Gillislee were brought aboard as his replacements.

Those two new additions give the Patriots a lot of depth and options to consider heading into training camp. Gillislee may or may not be the next Blount, but he doesn’t have to be. As long as Brady is still Brady, he and his teammates — old and new — will stay focused on winning a sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy next February.