Patriots Have Been In Contact With RB Mike Gillislee

A source tells Doug Kyed of NESN that the Patriots have been in contact with free agent RB Mike Gillislee, who was recently released by the Saints.

As of now, the Patriots have just two running backs on their 53-man roster, James White and Sony Michel, so they could clearly use some depth at the position and Gillislee is obviously familiar with their offensive scheme.

Gillislee, 27, was a fifth-round pick of the Dolphins in the 2013 NFL Draft. He spent just over two years in Miami before he was among their roster cuts at the start of the 2015 regular season.

After a brief stint with the Cardinals, the Bills signed him to their practice squad during the 2015 season and brought him back on a one-year deal. However, Buffalo lost Gillislee last offseason when they declined to match the Patriots’ two-year, $6.4 million restricted offer sheet.

Gillislee was set to make a base salary of $1.9 million for the 2018 season when the Patriots released him as they trimmed their roster down to 53 players. The Saints later signed him to their active roster before releasing him last weekend.

In 2018, Gillislee has appeared in four games and rushed for 43 yards on 16 carries (2.7 YPC) to go along with one reception for nine yards and no touchdowns.

We have him featured in our Top 50 Available 2018 NFL Free Agents list.