DETROIT -- Late in Patriots warmups before their game with the Lions, linebacker Kyle Van Noy stopped running back Mike Gillislee and asked him to give him a quick "thud." Not full-speed hit. Just a quick shoulder-to-shoulder thump in order to wake their pads up.
Gillislee obliged and promptly knocked Van Noy's mouth piece to the turf.
The newly-acquired Patriots running back seemed ready for contact after missing weeks of on-the-field work as he dealt with a hamstring issue. Suited up in full uniform for a preseason game for the first time as a member of the team, Gillislee could be in line for a significant amount of work Friday night.
Not only will the Patriots coaching staff want to get Gillislee some game-speed reps with Tom Brady and the rest of the Patriots offense, but the team is down one of its other top backs. Rex Burkhead, who caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Brady last week against the Texans, was not spotted on the field pre-game. Burkhead was not present for the media-availability portion of either Patriots practice this week that was open to the media. Dion Lewis and James White figure to see work out of the Patriots backfield to spell Gillislee. DJ Foster and Brandon Bolden could also see relatively hefty workloads.
Also missing from the field before the game were Dont'a Hightower, Shea McClellin, Elandon Roberts, Matthew Slater, Nate Ebner, Brandon King, Malcolm Mitchell, Jamil Douglas, LaAdrian Waddle, Nate Solder, Andrew Jelks (who remains on the non-football injury list), Deatrich Wise, Geneo Grissom and Derek Rivers.