2 min read • June 12, 2020
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New England Patriots' running back Sony Michel reportedly underwent a "maintenance" foot surgery in May and may start training camp on the PUP list. This doesn't necessarily mean he will miss any of the regular season. The type of surgery is not known, but I doubt it concerned anything structural or major as that certainly would have been done much earlier in the offseason. In an odd way, a slow start to the 2020 season may help him given his known knee issues. Michel has underwent multiple draining procedures and a clean-up scope in the last two seasons (he missed two games in 2018 with a knee sprain). Concerns for his knee have been there since he attended the University of Georgia and is a reason why he dropped in the NFL draft in 2018. He was also heavily used on the way to the Patriots Super Bowl win during the 2018-19 season. I do not expect the foot to be a big factor, but we can't be sure until the type of surgery is revealed. The bigger overall worry is regression from a 4.5 yards per carry average his rookie year to 3.7 yards per carry last year. He has been a 900-yard back the first 2 seasons and this seems to be his ceiling. Overall, Michel is a quality running back but compared to Todd Gurley, his arthritic knee may be in worse shape.
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