What does the Rex Burkhead injury news mean for the Patriots offense?

So it looks like Rex Burkhead’s knee injury isn’t as bad as initially believed, at least according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media. But it will still change the complexion of the Patriots’ offense, at least for the remainder of the regular season.


New England has been exceedingly cautious with its backs over the 2017 season because of the extraordinary depth it has at the position. Burkhead, Dion Lewis, James White and Mike Gillislee have all done a tremendous job this year as the Patriots have done lots of shuffling in the backfield. Even though Burkhead isn't as banged up as some first believed, expect the Patriots to proceed with caution for the rest of the regular season.

With Burkhead missing a sizable portion of the first half of the year because of a rib injury, it was Gillislee who stepped into that void, and he averaged almost 50 yards a game on the ground over the first six weeks of the season. With Burkhead back, he was able to take over the short yardage work that was Gillislee’s job at the beginning of the year. Now, Gillislee should get some touches again between now and the start of the playoffs.

While Gillislee isn’t the multidimensional threat that Burkhead is, the Patriots can more than make up for that in the passing game in short term with the likes of White, who has seen his production dip slightly over the last few weeks with the emergence of other faces in the passing game. Without Burkhead, look for a slight spike in his work as a receiver.

Basically, the bottom line is that you shouldn’t be surprised if you see Burkhead sit out for a portion or all of the next two games with an eye toward being 100 percent before the start of the postseason. The Patriots have done well mixing and matching in the backfield to this point in the year, and their depth should allow them to more than make up for the short-term loss of Burkhead between now and the start of the postseason.