The New England Patriots weekend has now started with a little bit of bad news but ultimately much more good in the long run. According to Jeff Howe of the Athletic, rookie running back Sony Michel could now miss the rest of the preseason, and possibly the start of the regular season, due to having a procedure on his knee after he left practice Wednesday with an unknown injury. Mike Reiss of ESPN reports that Michel will miss at minimum 10 days draining said knee, but the team is optimistic his return could be sooner.

While it's certainly not a positive to lose your 1st round pick for time in the preseason, there will be a small feeling of relief that the injury isn't anything season threatening.

With Michel limited, this could provide more opportunity for Jeremy Hill to showcase himself to the coaching staff in the preseason. The former Bengals running back has seem an extended look in the backfield with Mike Gillislee also dealing with injuries. Rex Burkhead will look to take the majority of the load early on should this injury bleed intro the regular season.

Sony Michel was drafted by the Patriots with the 31st overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Georgia and is poised to take on a significant amount of the role that was left by Dion Lewis this offseason. Although this clearly isn't the start Michel nor the Patriots were looking for, as of now it's assumed Sony will make a quick recovery and be available for most, if not all, of the Patriots 2018 season.