The Patriots played the entire 2017 season without a pair of wide receivers that had been pencilled into their offensive plans heading into the year.
Julian Edelman tore his ACL in August and Malcolm Mitchell went on injured reserve in September with knee troubles of his own. There was some hope toward the end of the season that Mitchell might be able to get on the field, but it didn’t happen.
Despite the decision to remain on the sidelines, Mitchell says he’s in good condition as the offseason gets underway.
“I’m feeling great,” Mitchell said, 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 made the comments about his health at an event at a bookstore where he spoke to the crowd about going from struggling as a reader to writing his own children’s book while at the University of Georgia. Mitchell said reading encouraged him while he was fighting the knee injury this year and told the crowd “reading can help you overcome adversity.” If all goes well, Mitchell will spend more time between the lines than between the covers during the 2018 season.