Despite a disappointing season, Mike Gillislee keeping his head up and wondering about 2018

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — While the rest of the room is alive with lights and laughter, Mike Gillislee sits by himself at a table, fiddling with his phone.

Fellow backs Dion Lewis and Brandon Bolden are joking, while James White conducts another TV interview and Rex Burkhead sits at a podium taking questions from ESPN Brazil. Meanwhile, Gillislee pulls his cap down tighter and looks away.



To say this season hasn’t gone as Gillislee initially thought would be an understatement. After beginning with a flourish — four touchdowns in the first two games of the 2017 season seemed to anoint him as New England’s new short-yardage back of choice, replacing LeGarrette Blount — it was pretty much all downhill from there, at least from an individual standpoint. He struggled to find consistency from that point on, and took a remarkable six healthy scratches down the stretch and into the playoffs (where he's also been dogged by a knee injury) as the odd man out in what has become a dynamic backfield.

Gillislee ended the regular season with 104 carries for 383 yards and five rushing touchdowns. But from Week 7 on, he had 25 carries for 93 yards and one touchdown, with the bulk of that activity coming in a December win over his old team (Buffalo), where he had six carries for 28 yards and a score.

Despite the dip down the stretch, no one had a discouraging word to say about Gillislee. The 27-year-old was praised by teammates and coaches alike, including Lewis, who called him a true professional.

“Mike’s been great. Mike works really hard,” said Bill Belichick late in the season. “In practice, sometimes when he’s – well, all the time, really – when he’s running the other teams’ plays – because we don’t have any practice squad backs on our roster, so our backs run the other team’s plays – he gives us a great look on whoever those backs are. And I know every day, every week when he gets his opportunities, he’s ready to go.

“He’s alert, attentive and makes the most out of (his chances). I would 100 percent second everything that Dion said. He’s been a great teammate and he’s done everything that he can to help the team in whatever capacity he’s been asked to do it in.”

While it appears likely that the 5-foot-11, 208-pound back won’t play in the Super Bowl — the first Super Bowl opportunity of his career, at least to this point — he’s not one to get too down on himself.

“I’m grateful for everything that’s been given,” he told Bostonsportsjournal.com in a quiet voice during Wednesday’s media availability. “I know there are a lot of people who wish they were in my shoes. I’m just blessed to be a part of this team. I’ve always played with a great group of backs, each and every year, so I’m used to competition. At the end of the day, I can only control what I can.”

As remarkable as it might sound, Gillislee, who is nearing the end of the first year of a two-year deal he signed last offseason, could be in the mix for 2018. Belichick has always viewed running backs as mostly fungible assets — no back has ever rushed for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons with Belichick as a head coach, dating all the way back to his days in Cleveland. If the Patriots let Lewis and/or Burkhead walk in free agency, even though they don't necessarily fill the same sort of role as Gillislee, the former Bill could be around next season.

“Maybe it will work out better in the future?” he wondered aloud. “But I’m the type of guy who never gives up. I work. I’m just going to practice every day and continue to work.”

Regardless of how things work out on Sunday, he remains upbeat for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he says he’s surrounded by a group of running backs he believes is a “family.”

“I mentioned this plenty of times this year — there’s no group like this running backs group, and I’ve been a part of a lot of different groups. We’re a family,” he said. “The guys in that room are unselfish. When their number is called, everybody is going to be ready. We all prepare for the game as if we’ll play the whole game. It’s just been a great ride this year, and I’m grateful for every moment.”