Dion Lewis has taken another big step forward toward playing.

The New England Patriots have added the running back to their 53-man roster on Saturday ahead of their Week 10 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, the team announced Saturday. It’s not yet known if he’ll be activated the game day roster on Sunday.

Lewis started the 2016 season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list after undergoing a pair of surgeries on his knee. He suffered an ACL tear during the 2015 season in the Patriots’ Week 7 win over the Washington Redskins. He was expected to make return for the start of the 2016 season, but suffered a setback and underwent his second surgery after he participated in offseason OTAs.

Lewis joins a group of Patriots running backs that have been prolific. LeGarrette Blount has rushed for 609 yards and nine touchdowns in the first half of the season. James White, primarily a pass-catching back, has 258 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.

With so many talented backs, Lewis’ snap count for the upcoming week is an uncertainty.

“I think it depends on how many snaps we’re talking about,” Bill Belichick said Friday. “We see a lot of more snaps in practice than possibly we would see in the game. Just picking out numbers, I have no idea. He might have 15 game snaps, he might have 75 practice snaps. Would you ignore those 75 plays that you’ve seen for a handful in a game or vice versa. I don’t know.”



