New England Patriots running back Sony Michel deal with weight fluctuations this offseason after undergoing a foot surgery. That mean the running back had work to do in recovery from the procedure.
“He got heavy after the surgery, and he had to get back down,” Patriots running back Ivan Fears said Wednesday. “So yes, he’s worked on it. He worked on it hard and got back to where he needed to be.”
Michel returned to practice on Aug. 26 after spending a few weeks on the physically unable to perform list, which gave ample time for former third-round pick Damien Harris to prove himself. He has established himself as a legitimate threat to win away Michel’s starting job. But to Michel’s credit, he looks slim, trim and, perhaps most importantly, quick. But Fears issued a caveat about that quickness.
“That’s fresh legs! He’s got fresh legs,” Fears said. “We have to beat on him a little bit more first and then we’ll see what he has going. He’s coming back off after missing the first 2 ½, 3 weeks of training camp – hell yeah, he’s going to be fresh and quick! His weight is good, no doubt. We’ve worked hard on that. He looks good. He doesn’t show any signs of slowing down from the injury, anything along those lines. We just have to finish getting him ready for a season. That takes a little more beating on.”
As training camp wears on and Michel takes more contact, he’ll have to maintain that foot speed. It’s something that seemed to elude him in 2019 when he averaged 3.7 yards per carry and underwhelmed as the team’s top running back.
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