Yesterday the New England Patriots signed free agent running back Rex Burkhead. Many fans have not heard of the former running back from Cincinnati, but that’s about to change in 2017.
Many Bengals fans were upset at the departure of Burkhead, especially to New England. Most Patriots fans thought this guy might be a camp body, but his contract proves otherwise. Last year Burkhead had 344 yards on 76 carries, that’s 4.6 yards per carry, stout.
At a reported $3.15 million, Rex Burkhead is the highest paid Patriots RB since Fred Taylor ($2,732,280) in 2010.
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) March 15, 2017
Burkhead is set to make $3.15 million in 2017 which is more than Dion Lewis and James White combined ($2.27M). Based on the money, it’s very possible we’re going to see a whole lot of Lewis and Burkhead in 2017, and based on his highlight reel, that’s going to be just fine with me. I’m not exactly sure what this means for Blount at this exact moment, but it’s looking more and more like the Patriots won’t be retaining him. This would most likely mean that James White becomes the 3rd down back.
Burkhead is fast and shifty, he sort of reminds me as a running back version of Danny Amendola. This is one of those sneaky good signings the Patriots have and a guy that just wows everyone at the start of the season. I think it’s safe to say, Belichick did it again!