New England Patriots activate Rex Burkhead from injured reserve

After beating the New York Jets, the New England Patriots have activated running back, Rex Burkhead, off the injured reserve.

As the New England Patriots get ready for the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13, they will be getting some extra depth in their backfield. After missing pretty much the entire season so far, Rex Burkhead has been activated off injured reserve and will be available to play against the Vikings.

With the playoffs in sight, the Patriots are certainly getting healthy at the right time. Against the New York Jets, we began to see the Patriots finally operating at full strength on offense. Having Rob Gronkowski back and looking right is obviously huge for the Patriots and should help fix some of their red zone woes.

At wide receiver, the Patriots are really looking good with Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon leading the way. In addition to being strong at other areas on offense, the Patriots have also been very strong at running back despite not having Burkhead.

So far this season, both James White and Sony Michel have made up for the team missing Burkhead. However, with all three now healthy, the Patriots are extremely strong at running back. Recently, David Andrews talked about the running back situation with all three healthy to Zack Cox of NESN.com.

"“We’re very fortunate with the backs we have, (and) getting Rex back is another thing we can add,” center David Andrews said Monday. “He’s a great player, has great vision, runs hard. … The more guys we can get in there fresh and keep rolling through, the better.”"

Even though both White and Michel have played well, Burkhead was an important part of the team last season. In 2017, Burkhead totaled over 500 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns in 10 games. The Patriots liked what Burkhead provided in the red zone with his ability to block, pass, and catch.

Getting Burkhead back just helps makes the Patriots even stronger, as he is a great weapon to have. As a bit of a swiss army knife, it is impossible to predict what the Patriots will be doing when he is in the backfield. At this point of the season, Burkhead will also help get White some rest in the final stretch before the playoffs, which is a nice luxury.