Patriots coach Bill Belichick suggested Saturday that Gillislee still needs to prove himself to the team, NESN.com's Zack Cox reports. "We were able to get Mike a few carries and a few plays in the game," Belichick said. "I think he still has quite a ways to go. He has missed some practices this (summer) and missed some practices last spring. He's worked hard to stay on top of things and to stay caught up, and we've worked hard to catch up, but we still have some ground to make up."
While the injury never seemed serious, Gillislee's hamstring caused him to miss about two weeks of practice as well as the first two exhibition contests. He nonetheless was impressive in his 2017 preseason debut Friday against Detroit, taking eight carries for 38 yards and a touchdown. Gillislee is the favorite to handle goal-line work and the largest portion of the rushing workload, but the threat provided by fellow offseason acquisition Rex Burkhead (undisclosed) shouldn't be overlooked. While Gillislee has a clear advantage when it comes to pure running ability, Burkhead's blocking and receiving skills would make the offense less predictable -- something Belichick said was a major problem last season.