At the start of last season, Dion Lewis was not near the top of the Patriots' running back depth chart. Mike Gillislee was the power back and James White was the receiving back, and that worked pretty well for the Pats early on. As the season moved along, however, Lewis slowly but surely took over more and more of the carries and the snaps. By the end of the year, he was getting a true feature-back workload.
Eventually, he set a career high in carries, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and yards from scrimmage. Still, Lewis is now 27 years old and he's spent the balance of his career playing for a team that rotates its running backs more often than any team in the league. It's understandable that he'd want a more defined role as he moves into the final stretch of his career.
So it should come as no surprise that Michael Giardi of NBC Sports Boston is reporting that Lewis is a "long shot" to stay with the Pats.
It was reported over the weekend that the Colts and Jets have strong interest in Lewis, and on Tuesday our Cody Benjamin reported that nine teams have expressed interest in Lewis, whose camp expects a deal averaging around $6.5 million per year.
Lewis is slight of build but runs with a surprising amount of power. He's shown himself to be a capable runner between the tackles and to the outside, and he's a smooth pass-catcher as well. Were he a bit larger, he'd be considered a definite three-down back. So it's not surprising that he's drawing strong interest around the league. Where he lands remains to be seen, but the Patriots don't really have anyone else who can replicate his skill set, so one would have to think they'll be in the market for a replacement, whether in free agency or the draft.