FOXBORO, Mass. — One of the most polarizing Patriots draft picks called it a career over the weekend, with running back Sony Michel announcing his retirement after five NFL seasons.
Michel’s career didn’t turn out the way New England envisioned when it drafted him 31st overall in 2018. The first-round pick was traded for peanuts before the end of his rookie contract and played his final NFL game at just 27 years old. Fans still play the “what-if” game with Lamar Jackson, who went one spot later at No. 32.
But if it wasn’t for Michel’s contributions as a rookie, the Patriots might have one fewer Lombardi in their trophy case.
“I will think of him running all over the Chargers in that playoff game.”
Matthew Slater on Sony Michel
The 2018 Patriots rumbled their way to a Super Bowl title after a late-season shift to a power-running-focused offense, and Michel was the engine of that effort. His postseason run that year was one of the most productive by any rusher in recent league history, helping fuel the sixth and final championship push of the Tom Brady era.
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Special teams captain Matthew Slater remembers it well.
“First of all, congratulations to Sony,” the Patriots special teams captain said Tuesday when asked about Michel’s retirement. “It’s always bittersweet when you see a guy retire. I know Sony had some injuries and some tough breaks along the way, but I just remember what he did for this football team in helping us win a championship.
“We really rode him heavily in ’18, and he delivered for us. Sony was a guy that didn’t say very much, but he showed up, and you knew what you were going to get from him every day.”
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Michel rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns in New England’s divisional-round win over the Los Angeles Chargers, 113 yards and two scores in the overtime triumph over Kansas City in the AFC Championship Game, and 94 yards and the lone touchdown by either team in Super Bowl LIII against the Los Angeles Rams.
His 336 rushing yards in those three games are the third-most by a player in a single postseason since 2001, trailing only 2019 Derrick Henry and 2016 Le’Veon Bell. No one has topped his total of six rushing touchdowns since Terrell Davis scored eight (in one more game) in 1997.
“His consistency as a person and a player, you really appreciate that from any player, but certainly from a young guy,” Slater said. “So I wish the best to him and his family. I will think of him running all over the Chargers in that playoff game and doing so many great things his rookie year and the time that he was here.”
Michel went on to win a second Super Bowl with the Rams in 2021. He played his final season with LA’s other team, rushing 36 times for 106 yards in 10 games for the Chargers in 2022.
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