Report: Patriots Announce Return Of Rex Burkhead

After spending the last few weeks practicing with the club, the running back was activated onto the 53-man roster after spending most of 2018 on injured reserve. To make room for Burkhead on the roster, New England waived offensive lineman Matt Tobin.

Burkhead landed on injured reserve following New England’s loss to the Lions in Detroit earlier this year. He left that game with what the team called a neck injury, but was reportedly sidelined due to a concussion. Burkhead began practicing with the team back on Nov. 8, using up New England’s second and final opportunity to bring a player off of injured reserve with rookie corner Duke Dawson being the first. From that return to practice, Burkhead didn’t hit any major speed bumps and now is eligible to play against the Minnesota Vikings this weekend at Gillette Stadium.

“It felt amazing to strap up the shoulder pads, put on No. 22, put on the Patriots helmet and just be out here with my teammates,” Melifonwu said. “Wearing the logo is something that’s special.”

Overall, his first game with his favorite team has to be deemed a success. The Patriots threw him into the fire right away with a very interesting defensive alignment. He lined up early in the game with three other safeties, the stalwarts in New England’s safety-heavy scheme: Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon and Patrick Chung. He played in only eight snaps, but looked good in his time on the field overall. His role should grow with time, and his presence gives the Patriots an option defensively that Nate Ebner never did. Melifonwu credited his success to the extra work he has put in off of the field.

“I think it’s going real well,” he said. “It’s something that I’m spending a lot of time on, extra time, whether it be with Steve [Belichick] or the other players. Just trying to digest the system and learn as much as I can and know where they’re going to contribute to playing.”

The Patriots ultimately don’t care about the quality of a player’s story. They care about the quality of his play. They added Melifonwu because they think he can help their team, not because he grew up as a Patriots fan. But as a former second-round talent who flamed out with an organization that doesn’t exactly know what it is doing (the Oakland Raiders), it is fair to call Melifonwu a pretty standard New England addition. But the added wrinkle of his Massachusetts origins make it a special one for fans. New England has seen plenty of Patriots hoist the Lombardi Trophy. But they haven’t seen many native sons pull of the feat, and Melifonwu easily could this season.

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *