Dion Lewis leaves game with leg injury

Dion Lewis left the New England Patriots‘ game against the Washington Redskins with what appears to be a leg injury.

New England Patriots running back Dion Lewis has left Sunday’s game against the Washington Redskins with an apparent leg injury, and he is not expected to return to the field. His injury is expected to be serious, but it was not caused by contact.

The Patriots offense has been boosted by the emergence of Lewis this year. He easily replaced Shane Vereen as the team’s pass-catching back. Lewis currently has 234 rushing yards and 378 receiving yards, but the Patriots may be losing one of their key running backs. LeGarrette Blount continues to serve as the bell cow back in the Patriots offense, but losing Lewis will undoubtedly be a major blow.

Lewis came out of nowhere to become a key weapon for the Patriots after receiving little to no playing time with the Philadelphia Eagles. He then went on to bounce between the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts before being signed by the Patriots, and his production has since been rewarded with a two-year contract extension.

Brandon Bolden and James White are next up on the Patriots’ running back depth chart. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is known for getting the most out of running backs who have come off the street, such as Jonas Gray. It remains to be seen whether anyone else can emerge as a pass-catching weapon out of the backfield, but having Belichick as the coach and Tom Brady at quarterback will always help the Patriots.