FOXBORO, Mass. — Three weeks into his first NFL season in 2014, James White felt comfortable — like he had his feet under him.
White had an entire preseason to prepare for his rookie campaign, though. Current New England Patriots rookie Sony Michel wasn’t afforded that luxury.
Michel, whom the Patriots selected 23rd overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, missed all four preseason games, most of training camp and the regular-season opener with a knee injury, setting him back in his development.
White, now in his fifth year as a Patriots running back and his first as a team captain, has taken his young teammate under his wing, doing whatever he can to help Michel adjust to the pro game.
“He didn’t play during the preseason, so there’s a lot of stuff that he hasn’t gotten to see,” White said Wednesday. “So I try to help him as much as I can, whether it’s watching film or just answering questions for him. But he’s been attacking each day and just trying to get better. You can tell he wants it.”
Another big difference between White and Michel: the former wasn’t asked to be the team’s lead back on Day 1. In fact, White, a fourth-round pick, appeared in just three games as a rookie, carrying the ball nine times and catching five passes.
That certainly hasn’t been the case for Michel. He was thrown directly into the fire, leading the Patriots in carries in each of his first two games. Since debuting last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Georgia product has touched the ball or been targeted on 29 of his 36 offensive snaps.
Michel has shown flashes, but overall, he’s struggled, totaling 84 yards on 24 carries and catching two passes on five targets for 6 yards. The Patriots’ overreliance on him in the running game has caused problems for their offense in back-to-back losses, but White believes the only way Michel will improve is through experience.
“It can be tough just trying to get in football shape (when you don’t play in the preseason), just trying to see those looks that you might not have seen,” White said. “It’s his first year, so you have to learn on the fly. He’s going to continue to improve, and he’s working hard. …
“The more you’re out there, the more you learn, and the more he’s been out there, the better he’s gotten. So he’s going to continue to work hard, and I’m going to continue to help him, and he can help us win some games.”
White said he sees a lot of himself in Michel, who is soft-spoken and humble when dealing with the media.
“He’s very mature,” White said. “He kinds of reminds me of myself. Pretty quiet. We kind of stick to ourselves most of the time. But he tries to learn, ask questions, do the extra reps and does whatever he can to help the team.”
The Patriots on Wednesday placed Rex Burkhead on injured reserve with a neck injury, further taxing a running back unit that already lost Jeremy Hill to a torn ACL in Week 1. They re-signed Kenjon Barner to fill out the depth chart, but given Barner’s track record (just 77 carries in five NFL season), Michel now is the team’s unquestioned lead back.
“Rex is a good football player,” White said. “It’s tough to see him go down. I wish him a speedy recovery, whenever that is. He’s a good football player for us. Guys like myself, Sony and Kenjon have to step up and kind of fill that void.”
