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New England Patriots: Something’s up with Malcolm Mitchell

By Sam Minton

FOXBORO, MA - DECEMBER 12: Malcolm Mitchell #19 of the New England Patriots runs with the ball during the game against the Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium on December 12, 2016 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
FOXBORO, MA - DECEMBER 12: Malcolm Mitchell #19 of the New England Patriots runs with the ball during the game against the Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium on December 12, 2016 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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Malcolm Mitchell missed the entirety of last season and has been missing this entire offseason. It may be time for the New England Patriots to get a little nervous.

The New England Patriots have been missing Malcolm Mitchell. He hasn’t played a game since the Patriots Super Bowl LI victory. Mitchell missed the entire season last year due to a knee injury and was only seen at the Patriots first day of OTA’s, so it seems that something has happened.

Mitchell has dealt with knee problems his entire career. Back when Mitchell was playing for the Georgia Bulldogs he tore his ACL. So it’s concerning that Mitchell is taking so long to recover after his latest injury.

Everything seemed to be going well for Mitchell since he seemed to be feeling pretty well in February.

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"“I’m feeling great,” Mitchell told Reiss at the time, via ESPN.com. “This offseason will be big. Obviously I missed all of last season and I won’t shy away from the importance of making sure I’m ready when we start OTAs.”"

Mitchell stressed that it was important to make OTAs and he was only there for one practice.

A big season for Malcolm

This is an important season for Mitchell. With Brandin Cooks and Danny Amendola gone, it seemed that Mitchell was going to have a larger role in the Patriots offense. Now his position seems up in the air. If he can’t get healthy Mitchell will fall behind in the depth chart thanks to recent acquisitions like Cordarrelle Patterson or Jordan Matthews.

Mitchell has proven on the field that he is a solid deep ball threat. In his only season on the field he had 32 receptions for 401 yards and 4 touchdowns. Mitchell also averaged 12.5 yards per reception.

If Mitchell is healthy it will be interesting to see if he has the same explosiveness off the line. He may have to improve his routes and become more of a mid-range target.

Next: Tom Brady in high gear at minicamp

Hopefully, Mitchell can return and be effective, but it is really unsettling to not see him out there on the field.

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