Sony Michel ran for 931 yards in his first NFL regular season with the Patriots and then had six rushing touchdowns in three postseason games to help the team to a Super Bowl title Infant Byron Cowart Jersey , so it’s hard to find much reason to complain about his rookie performance.If one did want to find an obvious area of improvement, it would be Michel’s work in the passing game. Michel only caught seven passes last season and the Patriots skewed heavily toward the ground game when he was in the backfield, so defenses could predict what was coming even if they weren’t able to stop it often enough.Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears doesn’t think they’ll have that luxury this year. Fears said Michel is “much improved” in the passing game and that the offense will reflect that once the regular season is underway.“The whole key to make it so we’re interchangeable, everybody looks at us saying they can do both. We like to be in that kind of mode Byron Cowart Jersey Draft , they got to worry about Sony catching the ball as well as running the ball,” Fears said, via Mac Cerullo of the . “I think you’ll find Sony is going to do very well in the passing game, and I bet you’ll find James White and the rest of the guys doing very well in the running game also. We’re going to try to keep that going.”Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said that the Patriots’ offensive identity is still taking shape. If Fears is right about Michel’s strides in the passing game Byron Cowart NFL Jersey , he’ll be at the forefront of whatever identity winds up ruling the day in New England. New England is up early making moves."The first day of the NFL’s legal tampering period was one of inactivity for the New England Patriots: while the club had to watch starting left tackle Trent Brown and standout defensive lineman Trey Flowers agree to contracts with the Oakland Raiders and Detroit Lions, respectively, the reigning world champions did not make any moves — something that changed on early Tuesday morning.According to reports by the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin, New England has tendered its two restricted free agents: while cornerback Jonathan Jones will receive the second-round tender worth $3.095 million Byron Cowart NFL Draft , wide receiver Josh Gordon will get the original-round tender — Gordon entered the league as a second-round supplemental draft pick — worth $2.025 million. The tenders are one-year contracts and will keep both from the open market.In case another team signs either of the two players to an offer sheet now, the Patriots would have five days to match or receive the draft pick appropriate for the tender as compensation — a second-round draft choice in Jones’ case, a third in Gordon’s. This scenario appears to be more likely in Jones’ case considering that Gordon is still indefinitely suspended and will reportedly be able to start the reinstatement process by May at the earliest. The Patriots tendering both players does not come as a surprise, though.Coming off a season that ended on an ankle injury during the divisional playoff round Byron Cowart Buffalo Bills Jersey , Jones rebounded well in 2018. While he saw inconsistent playing time during the regular season — he did remain a core special teams presence, though — the 25-year-old bounced back strong in the playoffs and played a key role in New England limiting All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill in the AFC title game, before a tremendous performance as a deep zone safety in the Super Bowl.Gordon, meanwhile Infant Jacob Bailey Jersey , appeared in 11 games for the team before getting indefinitely suspended for violating the terms of his reinstatement under the NFL’s drug policy. Before leaving the club in December, however, Gordon established himself as one of the team’s top-two at the wide receiver position: he played 71.2% of the Patriots’ offensive snaps and caught 40 passes for 720 yards and three touchdowns. Seeing him get tagged is a good sign for the team’s confidence in his return — and him still being in New England’s plans for 2019.