The Patriots are almost too well-stocked at running back, but that hasn’t stopped the Le’Veon Bell-to-New England speculation.
Bell was officially released by the New York Jets on Wednesday and has yet to sign with another team. The Patriots currently have running backs Damien Harris, James White, Rex Burkhead and rookie J.J. Taylor on their active roster and Sony Michel on injured reserve.
“I wouldn’t be able to really talk about anybody that’s not a member of our team now, so I’ll pass on that one,” Belichick said Thursday when asked about Bell. “Whatever I’ve said about Bell before on the record is — I stand by that, sure.”
Belichick has been extremely complimentary of Bell in the past, but he also likes his team’s current running back depth.
“Our backs have been a position that we’ve had a good depth at for a number of years, at least on paper,” Belichick said. “We ran into some depth problems a couple years ago, but generally speaking a high quality at that position. So, I feel like we have it now. I think that depth, that competition is good for our team. In the running game, the passing game in terms of depth and being able to have players on the field that can give you a high level of performance with a little bit different style and skill sets. So, that’s really been a luxury for us.”
Belichick typically stays away from hypotheticals, but he did entertain a general question about whether the Patriots would consider adding another player at a position that’s already fairly deep.
“You always want depth, and you can’t have as much depth as you want at every position,” Belichick said. “You have to sacrifice something somewhere based on the roster size. So, there’s a balance there between the number of players that you have and the quality players that you have. Sometimes you have, let’s call it, too many players because quality is there and sometimes you don’t have enough players. What that looks like on a board and what it looks like in August and what it looks like in October and November, sometimes are two completely different things. So which players are actually able to get out there and play and perform versus some names on a board or on a chart is quite different.
“So, something you have to constantly evaluate and stay on top of and plan for because you never know when you’re going to need players at every position, not just that one. So, (director of player personnel) Nick Caserio and (assistant director of player personnel) Dave Ziegler and their staffs do a great job of staying on top of all the personnel throughout the league and kind of what our next potential options would be depending on what we’re looking for at every position. But even at an individual position, there could be two or three different options at that position based on the need that you have. So, try to stay on top of it and continue to monitor the depth, where we are today and where we were last week and where we might be in a few days could be completely different. So, it’s just something that you have to constantly monitor.”
Based on talent level in the Patriots’ current running back room, it’s unlikely that they would add another player at this time. But Bell has the potential to be better than anyone in that group. And you should never rule out any addition when it comes to New England.
