New England Patriots injury update: Latest news on Mike Gillislee

With the third week of the preseason upcoming, the New England Patriots are finally starting to get healthy.

In recent weeks, one of the major injuries concerning the New England Patriots was the lingering hamstring issue for Mike Gillislee. As a running back, a hamstring injury certainly isn’t something that you want to deal with in the preseason.

If not healed properly, a hamstring issue in August can go on to affect a player well into the season. As an important part of the team, the Patriots certainly didn’t want to rush Gillislee back.

Luckily for Gillislee and the Patriots, he was able to get back on the field on Tuesday for practice. Gillislee was in full pads and working at 100 percent. Certainly good news for New England.

This offseason, Gillislee was a main prize for the Patriots. As a restricted free agent, the Patriots were able to sign Gillislee away from the Bills, weakening a division opponent, and getting stronger on their own.

Despite having LeGarrette Blount rush for a new franchise record of 18 rushing touchdowns last season, Patriots elected to go with Gillislee over him. With the Bills last season, Gillislee really shined as the backup to LeSean McCoy.

In 2016, Gillislee totaled 577 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns. The most impressive thing for Gillislee was his 5.6 yards per carry average.

With Gillislee out in the second preseason game against the Houston Texans, Rex Burkhead was able to shine. As another acquisition by the Patriots this offseason, the organization clearly likes what he can bring to the table. In his debut with the team, Burkhead certainly shined.

Next: Takeaways from preseason Week 2

After the strong performance by Burkhead, it left some think that it could end up being him as the primary running back in New England. While many believe that it will be Gillislee, he might have to prove himself a bit more after the strong game from Burkhead. The Patriots will be playing the Detroit Lions in their third preseason game on August 25th. As a full participant in practice, Gillislee could be suiting up for New England.