The Patriots Future Without Sony Michel and His Past With Them

You can never have too much of a nice thing in New England. Whether it is Julian Edelman, Antonio Brown, and Josh Gordon all a part of the same receiving corps, Gronk and Hernandez completing one of the best tight end duos the league had seen or having an absolutely loaded running back room, something seems to always have to give and today it was Sony Michel.

The trade terms have changed a little bit since the announcement this morning. Instead of The Patriots taking the 5th and 6th round picks and hoping they can be swapped for a 4th round comp. pick the Pats are getting a 2022 6th rounder and 2023 4th instead.

The trade makes sense from both perspectives. LA has a crisis in their backfield and needed anyone they can get, lucky for them, there isn't a bad running back on this roster. We have already crowned it the deepest in the league as the 5th option is a rookie who is averaging two touchdowns a game thus far in the pre-season. Someone had to go because there was a surplus of backs that were going to cut field time from someone who deserved it. Because let's face it, every running back on this team deserves to be on the field in 2021.

Michel ended up being the odd man out. Sony, who is 26, is on an expiring deal since the Patriots chose to not pick up his 5th-year option. That deal, which owes him $1.79 million in 2021 makes him the second-highest earner in the RB room behind James White. These are all characteristics of a player who fits the mold to be traded when you have younger, cheaper, fresher legs behind you.

Let's not be mistaken, the Patriots are left with a squad that STILL might be the best top to bottom in the NFL. The keys have officially been handed to Damien Harris as the RB1 and first down back. No more will he and Michel trade carries. White needs no introduction as the best pass-catching back on the team now with JJ Taylor shadowing him. Then the battering ram, Rhamondre Stevenson, who unless he gets the redshirt treatment, should live at the goal-line. Three words: Versatility, youth, athleticism.

The Patriots will be fine without Sony but losing him has got to leave a bad taste in your mouth. It feels like there might have been some unfinished business for the former first-rounder. Going into what we all but knew would be his final year as a Patriot, there were signs he could finally play a role in the receiving game. He was finally entering a season without injury. All these things pointed to a big Sony season. Who knows? This chance might now be greater now as he is alone in a backfield in LA. That also makes a future fourth and next year's 6th seem a little low for a starting-caliber RB considering how desperate The Rams were.

When it comes to Sony Michel's legacy, it is a contentious one. Similar to if the debate on if Edelman is a Hall of Famer, there is a lot of strong feelings one way or another.

No matter how you feel, he brought us a ring. When the Patriots found their offensive identity in 2018, it came from running the football. After losing Dion Lewis to the Titans in the 2017 free agency, the Pats had a massive hole at RB. They spent their second selection of the first round on one and he rushed for 336 yards, 5 touchdowns, and scored the only touchdown of Super Bowl LIII. It was a historic postseason as a rookie RB has never posted such numbers. No matter how much that dead horse is beat, it helped put a 6th Lombardi at 1 Patriot Place.

That is why the word "bust" is unfair for Sony. Bust implies that he totally flopped for us. It implies he didn't have any franchise-altering moments. If Sony Michel is a bust, then what is N'keal Harry to you? If The Pats took him at 33 and not 31 and he didn't have first-rounder by his name, are you that upset? It seems that many let their expectations be too high or based them off of his teammate at Georgia Nick Chubb. Not everyone can be a top 5 at their position and just because you aren't it doesn't mean you aren't a good player.

Sony had the chance to hit the 1,000-yard mark in every season he has played. Unfortunately, injuries have held back his full potential. But it doesn't take a football expert to see his impact. 88 and 69 yards are not the difference between a good and bad pick.

Sony was the best player available for the Patriot's biggest need at 31. If you're someone who thinks that is an indictment on Belichick as a GM, remember that the reason he is gone is that other players he drafted (and undrafted) are so good it pushed him out.

At the end of the day, there will always be a place in Patriots history with Sony's name on it. Best of luck in LA and thanks for the memories dawg.