Dion LEwis 2.jpg

New England Patriots RB Dion Lewis did not suit up in Sunday's 31-24 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

(AP Photo)

New England Patriots running back Dion Lewis, moved from the PUP list to the active roster on Saturday, was not in uniform for the team's 31-24 Sunday night loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

One encouraging sign, though: Lewis appears to be fully healthy.

"He wouldn't have been on the injury report," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said on Monday's conference call. "I mean, we didn't activate him until Saturday, but he wouldn't have been on the injury report."

Because Lewis remained on the PUP list through the team's week of practice, the Pats were not required to list the running back's participation on their three practice reports, released Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. According to Belichick, Lewis, who has missed the past 19 games, would not have been a limited participant.

Lewis has undergone two knee surgeries since late November 2015.

So if he is healthy, why wasn't he active?

"When a player hasn't played for a year, they haven't played for a year," Belichick said.

One guess: The Patriots used James White on 43 percent of snaps, according to WEEI's Mike Petraglia. Clearly, the role of pass-catching back was a prominent one Sunday night. Perhaps the Pats want to ease Lewis into action against a team like the 49ers -- when they'll likely control the game script and the score. Against Seattle, in what figured to be a tight matchup, Belichick did not want to use a running back who will have to shake off the rust of sitting in 18 straight games.

