Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has always been ahead of the curve (in many ways) for NFL head coaches and he realized long ago that the days of one workhouse running back is over. Rather, he prefers to load up with a bunch of guys in the backfield with various skill sets and sizes. Therefore, when they inevitably get hurt at some point, others are ready to step in without much of a drop off in terms of production. Shocker, Sony Michel is on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list after offseason foot surgery, Brandon Bolden opted out and training camp starts next Monday so New England needed another warm body. The team hasn't confirmed the move yet but many of the top NFL/Patriots reporters all said yesterday that they hosted free agent Lamar Miller on a visit and quickly signed him to a one-year deal (probably for spare change and a gift card to Toby Keith's Bar and Grill at Patriot Place).
I was hesitant to write about this move since for all we know, Miller could be the usual (semi) big name veteran that New England brings to camp, only to release them before the regular season has even started. Still, the man has put together a very solid career in the league after being drafted in the fourth round (97th overall) by the Dolphins in 2012. He turned 29 in April and coming off a lost 2019 (after tearing his ACL in the third preseason game, remember those?), hopefully Miller still has a few decent years left in his 5-foot-10, 221-pound frame.
Coming into his third year, it's hard to call Michel a complete bust already but other than his great postseason two years ago, can you name any other huge performances that he's had as a Patriot? I thought not. He came into the NFL with injury concerns and so far, he's done nothing to dispel that notion since he always seems to be banged up with knee/leg/foot issues. James White is a perfect change of pace back that is excellent catching the ball but it is clearly diminishing returns when his carries start to pile up. Likewise, Rex Burkhead is basically a poor man's White with a similar injury history to Michel and who knows about Damien Harris after the 2019 third-round pick from Alabama was great in August last year then never seen again in games that meant anything.
Playing for mostly terrible teams in Miami for four seasons then perennial playoff choke-artist Houston for three seasons, Miller has put together sneaky impressive numbers. Before last season, the fewest regular season games that he missed was just three so Belichick must love that already. He's topped 1000 rushing yards twice (career-best 1099 in 2014 with Miami), came close another year (973) and had two other respectable outputs (872 and 888). He's run for 32 touchdowns including eight in two different seasons with a career average of 4.3 yards per attempt. It appears like he's not one-dimensional either since he has 209 receptions in his career (7.5 yards per catch) as well with highs of 47 catches and 397 receiving yards in 2015 with the Dolphins and three touchdown catches in 2017 with the Texans.
Bottom line, you could do a lot worse finding a running back off the scrap heap than Miller. If he's healthy (like Cam Newton, the biggest unknown by far), I would take him in a heartbeat over Michel, Burkhead and Harris. New England will most likely have to rely on running the ball way more than they have in years as they get acclimated to Newton who is not an accurate passer at all-unlike you know who in Tampa Bay-so it is a smart decision to have as many experienced running backs as possible.
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