New England Patriots running back Sony Michel, currently recovering from an offseason knee scope, said he’s aiming to be ready for training camp later this month.

In his rookie season, Michel rushed for nearly 1,000 yards but also had a preseason knee issue and a midseason injury that sidelined him for multiple games. He missed the Patriots’ workouts and minicamp practices earlier this offseason because of a knee scope from earlier in the year. However, he told the NFL Network that he’s aiming to be ready when the Patriots open up training camp for the 2019 season in a few weeks.

“It’s a process and it’s just something that I’m just kind of working towards,” Michel said. “That’s the goal, to be ready for training camp.

“It’s all part of the game. I wouldn’t relate it to last year. Last year was last year. This is a whole new time. Anything can happen.”

Michel returns to a deep Patriots running back corps that added third-round pick Damien Harris to the mix, and brought back veteran Brandon Bolden after a season with Miami. Rex Burkhead and James White are set to return in prominent roles on offense as well.

Veterans are set to report to training camp on July 24, with practices set to start the following day.

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JEREMY HILL is hoping to be the surprise of somebody’s training camp for the second straight year. Which NFL camp remains uncertain.

Hill, who battled his way into a roster spot and likely playing time for the Patriots last year, suffered a torn ACL in his right knee in the season opener against Houston, ending his career in New England before it really got started – just 12 snaps into his time in Foxborough.

Eight months from surgery, he’s hoping to perform his way onto a roster again. Hill told the Baton Rouge Advocate that he’s not far off. “I think for me, coming off a big ACL injury, I’m just doing what I can to get back to 100 percent. I know there’s going to be a job waiting on me when I get cleared, so that’s all I’m doing now,” Hill said. “I’m just trying to get healthy and once that happens, I’ll be back. I’m pretty close. I’m about eight months out of surgery, so hopefully soon.”

In five seasons, including last year’s one-game season, the former Bengal has 708 rushes for 2,898 yards and 29 touchdowns. But he’s played just eight games since 2016.

CHARGERS: Discouraged by his contract situation, running back Melvin Gordon has told the team he will not report to training camp and will instead demand a trade unless he receives a new deal.

The sides have been discussing an extension, but the lack of progress led the running back to toughen his stance this week. Gordon is in the final year of the deal he signed with the Chargers after they drafted him 15th overall in 2015 and is scheduled to make $5.6 million this season.

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He skipped the team’s voluntary offseason program before reporting to minicamp last month.

In 2018, Gordon rushed 175 times for 885 yards and caught 50 passes for another 490 and scored 14 touchdowns. But he also missed four games because of injuries. He’s a two-time Pro Bowler and regarded as one of the Chargers’ primary offensive weapons.

DOLPHINS: Kendrick Norton was at fault for a two-car accident last week that resulted in the amputation of his left arm, ending his football career, according to a crash report from the Florida Highway Patrol.

Norton was issued a citation for an improper lane change of his 2017 Ford F250, which crashed into the right side of a 2015 Maserati before it slammed into a concrete barrier and overturned onto its roof.

While no tests for alcohol or other drugs were administered, investigators determined Norton and his passenger, a 34-year-old woman named Shakir Williams, were not suspected of alcohol or drug use.

Norton and Williams, however, were not wearing seat belts during the incident, which occurred around 1:18 a.m. on July 4 on the Dolphin Expressway westbound ramp, leading to the Palmetto Expressway.

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Both Norton and Williams were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in Miami after the accident.

Investigators were unable to determine if Norton was distracted before the accident occurred.

Investigators said the other driver, Jessie Pena, a 30-year-old woman from Miami, was also not suspected of alcohol or drug use. Pena and her passenger in the Maserati, Osdany Jimenez, a 38-year-old man from Miami, were not injured after the incident.

OBITUARY: Walt Michaels, the former New York Jets coach who retired following the 1982 season after leading the team to the AFC title game, has died. He was 89.

The Jets said Thursday that Michaels died Wednesday. The team did not immediately provide a cause or location. The New York Times said Michaels died at a nursing home in Plains, Pennsylvania.

The former Cleveland Browns linebacker was the defensive coordinator of the Jets’ Super Bowl-winning team in the 1968 season. He was head coach from 1977-82, going 39-47-1 and making the playoffs in the 1981-82 seasons. The Jets reached the AFC title game after the 1982 season before losing to the Miami Dolphins in a rain-soaked Orange Bowl.

He later coached the New Jersey Generals of the USFL for two years in 1984-85.


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