Potential returns of Damien Harris, Gunner Olszewski raise ceiling of Patriots offense
Harris and Olszweski returned to practice this week after stints on injured reserved.
CommentaryThe cavalry is coming, and just in time. Ahead of Sunday’s Week 4 showdown between the Patriots and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, and with a difficult upcoming schedule after that, New England is poised to bolster its roster depth. Running back Damien Harris, wide receiver Gunner Olszewski, and defensive tackle Beau Allen are all eligible to return from the injured reserve list, with Harris and Olszewski returning to practice this week. Both Harris and Olszewski now have three weeks to be activated to the 53-man roster, before reverting to the injured reserve list for the rest of the season. While New England is not required to immediately reinstate all three players to the active roster, the new IR rules for the 2020 season gives the team added flexibility in a season where roster turnover is greater than ever week to week.Both second-year players offer depth to a Patriots offense that is still in the early stages of their development with Cam Newton at quarterback. As the Patriots get set to embark on the hardest stretch of their season, with games against the 49ers, Bills, and Ravens in the next month and a half, they now get back two players who should help the offense round into shape.
In the case of Harris, he provides depth at running back to a team that has shown it will be relying on the running game heavily this season, and thus will need a healthy stable of backs to roll out every week.
Olszewski, meanwhile, provides insurance for the Patriots in case Julian Edelman aggravates the knee injury that he has been managing since training camp began. Aside from insurance, however, the 6-foot, 190-pound receiver also gives the New England offense a wide receiver not named Julian Edelman who can beat man coverage.
Comments made by Bill Belichick this week indicate that it’s not as simple as just plugging these players back into the lineup and expecting things to go smoothly, both for the player and for the team.
“Yeah, you just never know how that’s going to work out,” Belichick said. “A couple years ago, we had good depth at running back and then we end up playing a receiver at running back and everything else, and so it just all diminished in a hurry.
“That might not be the case here going forward, we might have good depth there, and we’ll just try to do the best that we can in terms of game-planning and creating opportunities and personnel groups and plays or whatever it is to try to attack our opponents. But I think you’ve got to be careful about changing your whole offense just to work a couple guys into the lineup if that’s going to detract from something else. So, there’s a balance there.”
Translation: Pump the brakes, Patriots fans.
Damien Harris, by most accounts, was the best Patriots running back in training camp this summer. Harris has also only been active for two NFL games in his career, and may not be ready to come bursting out of the gates right away to begin his 2020 NFL season.
Listening to his position coach though indicates that the team does plan to at least begin to work in the second-year back, perhaps as soon as this week.
“I think we’re all kind of anxious to see what he will do when it’s truly go time,” Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears said. “Everything he’s shown has been outstanding. He was having a great training camp, so it was kind of unfortunate to get a little finger injury before the opening game. But yeah, we’re all kind of on pins and needles on this one. We’d like to see where he’s going to be and what he’s going to do.”
With Harris potentially returning this week, and James White also set to return, there’s going to be a lot of sorting out to do among the Patriots’ running backs. It’s inevitable that someone will get squeezed for playing time.
With the Patriots ground game looking good after a Week 3 performance that saw the position group amass 223 yards amongst their running backs, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Harris be worked in slowly. He has the potential for a bigger role as the season goes along, especially if he can carry over his stellar training camp performance into the regular season. At minimum, Harris provides excellent depth in case of injury.
Olszewski had a strong camp as well and provides an intriguing new option to a New England receiving corps that lacks the ability to beat sticky man coverage.
Damiere Byrd has been the team’s No. 3 wide receiver to start the season, and has shown signs of developing some chemistry with Cam Newton through three weeks. However, Byrd came to New England with the reputation of being a speedster, but has yet to showcase that speed on the field, operating mostly in the short-to-intermediate areas of the field.
Olszewski has better short-area quickness than Byrd, and has the ability to run a more diverse route tree. The one concern with Olszewski — and it’s a big one — is his catching ability. Olszewski can get open against NFL cornerbacks, but needs to continue to work on his hands.
If Olszewski can show growth in that area, and supplant Byrd as the team’s No. 3 wide receiver, suddenly the Patriots’ wide receiver position doesn’t look as shabby as it once did.
While the New England offense figures to continue to rely on its running attack in most games, having a second receiver that can get open when you need to move the chains through the air is crucial. Olszewski provides that, and also serves as protection in the event that Edelman’s 34-year-old body breaks down at some point this season.
New England has one roster spot currently open, and would need to make another move to open up a second. With the team’s depth at running back already impressive as is, Olszewski would figure to be favored for that open spot, if he is healthy enough to return this week.
In the short term, getting back Harris and Olszewski provides depth and flexibility to the Patriots in a season where roster situations are very fluid. Over the course of the season, however, getting two young and talented players back in the fold raises the ceiling for the Patriots offense and provides reason for optimism when discussing this team’s postseason chances.
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