Michel out with knee injury
FOXBORO — Patriots rookie running back Sony Michel underwent a procedure on his knee and is expected to miss some time, according to multiple reports.
Michel, selected in the first round of April’s draft, left Wednesday’s practice following a running drill and did not return. Since then, he has missed three practices.
ESPN reported that Michel had his knee drained and will be sidelined at least 10 days. The Athletic reported the procedure is expected to keep Michel out of the preseason, and perhaps even into the start of the regular season.
A dynamic back with big-play ability, Michel entered the draft with health concerns. He suffered a torn ACL as a sophomore in high school and experienced minor knee issues in college at Georgia.
“There’s a lot of information that we sort through, so in the end whatever you have with the player you take everything that comes along with it,” Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio said after selecting Michel with the 31st overall pick. “So you’re either comfortable or you’re not comfortable with a player’s situation. So you take a lot of that information in. So in the end we felt we were comfortable with the player so we went ahead and made the pick.”
Michel is competing with Rex Burkhead and James White for snaps in the backfield. Burkhead projects as the No. 1 back, although the team will likely use a committee approach.
Jeremy Hill and Mike Gillislee are also vying for a spot. Hill seems to be leading the competition at the moment.
The Patriots open the preseason on Thursday against the Redskins. The running back competition should come into focus within the first few preseason games.