Rex Burkhead Talks About ‘Tough’ IR Stint After Returning To Patriots’ Roster

Rex Burkhead talked to reporters in front of his locker Thursday, and you could see from his smile that he was happy.

Burkhead welcomed his first child a few days ago. The Patriots running back was taken off of injured reserve and joined the 53-man roster Monday. In other words, he is playing in Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.

“It feels great. I’m looking forward to being back here on the field on Sunday and just being back out here with the team, practicing again and being around the guys. The past few weeks, it’s been different. It’s been weird not being around everything, so it just feels good,” the running back said.

Burkhead ended up on injured reserve after suffering a neck injury in the Week 3 game against the Detroit Lions. This is his latest injury during Burkhead’s time with the Pats. However, he did not spend too much time away from the field.

“It’s not fun, for sure. It’s something that I’ve never really dealt with for an extended period of time. But it puts things in perspective. It makes you really appreciate your time out on the football field and in the locker room with the guys. It makes you miss it, for sure. You’re just really appreciative for every moment you have, so I was definitely looking forward to when I could get back out there,” he said.

Head coach Bill Belichick commended the running back for his efforts, noting that Burkhead “consistently met or exceeded targets.”

“I just worked my tail off. That was really it. Just doing whatever I could and control what I could control. The trainers did a great job; the strength coaches did a great job, really just getting me back into shape and being ready to go whenever I was able to come back and start practicing,” Burkhead said after Belichick’s comments.