The New England Patriots have gone through a ton of changes in the past year which began when quarterback Tom Brady decided to leave town and relocate to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In addition, a handful of veteran players bannered by linebacker Dont'a Hightower and safety Patrick Chung opted out of playing the 2020 season due to concerns for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

With several roster spots up for grabs, some unheralded players also got to see action on the field, including veteran running back Rex Burkhead. The 30-year-old rusher has been a mainstay with the Patriots since the 2017 season when he first arrived from the Cincinnati Bengals.

Despite managing to make it to the final roster each season, Burkhead barely saw action in his three years as a Patriot. However, with the Patriots' depleted offensive rotation, it seemed like the 2020 season would serve as a breakout campaign for him. In fact, he was already on his way to emerging as a valuable contributor for the team's dismal offense.

His best performance came in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders where he generated 49 rushing yards on six carries along with two rushing touchdowns. He also contributed 49 receiving yards on seven catches along with a receiving touchdown en route to a 36-20 victory.

Burkhead continued to see action for Bill Belichick as the season progressed. However, he was stopped in his tracks when he suffered a torn ACL injury in Week 11 against the Houston Texans where he only recorded seven yards on four carries in a 27-20 loss.

After he went down with a season-ending injury, the Patriots turned to James White, Damien Harris, and Sony Michel to lead the team's ground game. Despite being listed as a running back, White often found himself contributing in the aerial attack where he finished the season with 375 receiving yards on 49 receptions and a touchdown. He contributed a total of 121 rushing yards on 35 attempts on two scoring drives through 14 appearances for the Patriots.

Meanwhile, Harris entered the 2020 season with a broken finger which ruled him out of their first few games. Despite his absence, he still emerged as the team's best ball-carrier in the 2020 season after he notched a total of 691 rushing yards on 137 attempts along with two touchdowns in 10 games played.

On the other hand, Michel was able to make up for his absence after missing some time in the middle of the season due to a quadriceps injury. He managed to bounce back stronger in the team's final games and produced a total of 449 yards on 79 touches and a touchdown in just nine games played off the bench.

All three rushers are expected to banner the team's rushing attack next season, considering that they are still significantly healthy and are all younger than Burkhead.

In addition, the impending roster moves that the Patriots shall make in the offseason will also serve as a crucial factor in the retention of Burkhead in the lineup. The receiving corps of the team performed poorly all throughout the 2020 season. N'Keal Harris has yet to reach his potential as an athletic wideout and only managed to tally 309 yards on 33 receptions and two touchdowns in 14 games.

Wideout Damiere Byrd can definitely do better even after he recorded 604 yards and a touchdown in 16 games. Meanwhile, only sophomore Jakobi Meyers served as the bright spot in the room after he generated 729 receiving yards on 59 receptions in 14 appearances. Not to mention that veteran pass-catcher Julian Edelman only saw action in six games as he nursed a lingering knee injury all throughout his 12th season in the league.

After seeing how their weapons performed, the Patriots would be wise to add more reliable offensive players to their roster, regardless of the quarterback that will play under center next season.

The shallow offense rotation of the Patriots was an area that certainly held them back on most nights and prevented them from winning winnable games. They can definitely do better than a 7-9 record if Bill Belichick can manage to overhaul his team's roster despite having limited assets available at his disposal heading to next season.

At the end of the day, the potential influx of more talented wide receivers and running backs will certainly decrease Burkhead's chances of getting a spot in the final roster, especially with the fact that he will continue to remain on the sidelines in the foreseeable future due to his torn ACL injury.

In the event that the other players manage to secure their roles for next season, Rex Burkhead may find himself as the odd one out and potentially be cut from the team in the 2021 offseason.