Patriots free agent running back Dion Lewis is expected to draw significant interest on the free agent market, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
Lewis, who is reportedly seeking a $6MM annual salary, is likely to draw the eye of the Jets, Texans, 49ers, Raiders, and Colts, per Florio. New York, San Francisco, and Indianapolis are each facing vacancies in their backfields, but a Lewis addition in Houston or Oakland would presumably lead to the release of Lamar Miller or Marshawn Lynch, respectively.
The Patriots had a cavalcade of running backs on their roster in 2017, but Lewis was the best of the bunch. The 27-year-old Lewis posted the most outstanding season of his career in 2017, toting the ball 180 times for 896 yards (both team highs), managing 214 yards on 32 receptions, and scoring 10 total touchdowns (including one in the return game). Lewis ranked first in Football Outsiders‘ DYAR metric, sixth in broken tackles, and sixth in Pro Football Focus‘ pass-blocking grades.
Lewis isn’t the only free agent running back about whom New England needs to worry. Rex Burkhead is also scheduled to hit the open market later this month, so while the Patriots still employ James White, Brandon Bolden, and Mike Gillislee they could see a great deal of turnover in their backfield over the coming weeks.
As a 9ers fan I wouldn’t mind Lewis if we aren’t bringing back Hyde but I’d prefer to keep Hyde. Can’t wait to see what we do, got plenty to spend still and already linked to some pretty good players.
As a Patriots fan, id be disappointed seeing Lewis and Burkhead leave, both of them are work horses. Both were very productive for the Pats.
I would like to see Burkhead back over Lewis. I like everything about Lewis’ game but I felt like he had a tendency to try to do too much and he put the ball on the ground. Burkhead I think matches the style a little better moving forward of a guy who never seems to lose yards or turn the ball over.
I agree Brian. I love both but I’d rather have Burkhead. He’s just more stable.
There are plenty of backs in the draft and free agency New England could get for much less and prove to be better.
As a Pats Fan, Lewis is good, but let Burkhead go. He sucks
Probably going to the 9ers. Would work well with shannahans offense
Best running back class in years and the 49ers are more focused on using cap space on overpriced free agents.