Patriots running back Jonas Gray shot from obscurity to the cover of Sports Illustrated by running for 201 yards and four touchdowns against the Colts last week, but the elevator back down to Earth may have travelled even faster.
Gray arrived late to practice on Friday, which caused coach Bill Belichick to send him home and devise a game plan that called for Gray to get zero snaps against the Lions. Belichick said after the game that “we do what we think is best” when asked why Gray didn’t play at all in the victory and Gray just wanted to focus on the positive result for the team.
“We’re moving past that,” Gray said, via the Boston Herald. “I’m glad we got the team win. I think it would have stung more if I didn’t play and we would have lost the game, but I’m happy for these guys. I just wish I was able to contribute to the win, but I was glad we came away with the victory and these guys played great.”
The Patriots got a strong outing from LeGarrette Blount and ran for 90 yards on 20 carries overall against a good Lions defensive front. How much that will wind up impacting future plans for Gray remains to be seen, but he should definitely stock up on alarm clocks after his next opportunity in the offense.