Two weeks into the 2021 NFL preseason, the New England Patriots cut bait with Sony Michel, trading their top pick in the 2018 draft to the Los Angeles Rams for fifth- and sixth-round selections in 2022.
It’s fair to say that deal worked out well for both sides.
With Michel and the Rams now set to face the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday in Super Bowl LVI, let’s take a closer look at how the running back’s August move to LA impacted both him and his former team.
Sony Michel
The Rams added Michel — the lone touchdown scorer in New England’s 13-3 win over LA in Super Bowl LIII — after losing lead back Cam Akers to what at the time was believed to be a season-ending torn Achilles. He entered the season as Darrell Henderson’s backup, and that was his role until early December.
Michel started in place of an injured Henderson in Week 3, registering 20 carries for 67 yards in a win over Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but otherwise was an offensive afterthought for the first three months. Over an eight-game stretch from Week 4 to Week 12, he totaled just 190 yards and one touchdown, averaging a shade under 4 yards per carry.
Then, Henderson went down with a quad injury in a late-November loss in Green Bay, sidelining him for multiple weeks. It was the Rams’ third straight defeat, dropping them to two games back of the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West standings with six weeks remaining.
Henderson’s injury thrust Michel, LA’s third-choice running back, into the spotlight — and he delivered. Over the next five games, the ex-Patriot rushed for 497 yards and three touchdowns — including 92-, 121- and 131-yard performances — and the Rams won all five to surge to a division title.
“Early on in the year, not as much involvement, then all of a sudden when you get him in more and more involved as the year went on, you start realizing just what a special guy he is and special competitor he is,” Rams offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth said during Super Bowl LVI Opening Night. “I mean, guy’s a football player. He figures it out in the plays, everything doesn’t have to be clean all the time. He’s just such a physical runner and really his overall demeanor and attitude has just been tremendous.”
With Akers making a stunning return to the field in the divisional round, Michel hasn’t been much of a factor this postseason. He had one carry for 4 yards in Akers’ first game back, then carried 10 times for just 13 yards in the NFC Championship Game. And with Henderson expected to be active Sunday for the first time since Week 16, Michel’s impact in his second Super Bowl could be minimal.
With the Patriots declining last year to exercise Michel’s fifth-year contract option, the 26-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent when the new league year opens next month.
Patriots
For the first half of the season, trading Michel looked like a regrettable move for New England.
Preseason standouts Rhamondre Stevenson and J.J. Taylor were the two up-and-comers tasked with replacing him, and neither could gain a permanent foothold in the gameday lineup. For close to two months, Stevenson and Taylor traded healthy scratches, with the former sitting out four of the first seven games and the latter inactive for the other three. The Patriots still had top back Damien Harris, who topped 100 yards in three of those first seven weeks, but no clear No. 2.
Then, something clicked for Stevenson, who later acknowledged he had difficulty adjusting to the daily grind of life in the NFL. The fourth-round draft pick topped 100 yards from scrimmage in a Week 9 win over Carolina (62 rushing, 44 receiving), then enjoyed his true breakout one week later, rushing for 100 yards and two touchdowns in a rout of the Cleveland Browns while Harris was sidelined with a concussion.
Stevenson wound up playing in each of the Patriots’ final 10 games, rushing for 100-plus yards twice. From Week 8 on, he ranked fourth among rookies in rushing yards and second in touchdowns, averaging 4.8 yards per carry.
“When (the season) first started, there were obstacles, of course, and I was falling hard to the obstacles,” Stevenson said after the season. “But I just had to get on track and get right. I took the coaching and just talked to the vets, picked their brain, and I think it was pretty successful.”
Harris finished with 929 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns in 15 games. With him and Stevenson both under contract for 2022, the Patriots should boast one of the NFL’s top backfield duos next season. Their sub-back spot is a question mark, however, as both James White and Brandon Bolden are set to hit free agency. White also is coming off season-ending hip surgery.
