Pats Beat: Don't count out Travaris Cadet

New England Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears met with the media Monday, or, in other words, Fears spent eight minutes speaking about Dion Lewis and Dion Lewis only.

Surely, Lewis is one of the best stories in the NFL this season. He entered the NFL in 2011, and he has nearly twice as many yards from scrimmage in three games with the Patriots (325) than in 24 games with the Eagles (192).

When discussing Lewis, Fears mentioned another running back, Travaris Cadet, who missed virtually the entire month of August with a hamstring injury but still made the 53-man roster.

Fears first brought up Cadet when he was asked why Lewis didn't have success elsewhere before coming to New England.

"He might not have gotten a shot, or he could have been just like Cadet, pulled a hammy early and just missed too much of practices and all of a sudden you don't know," Fears said. "(Lewis) may have never really gotten a shot. It's just hard to get a shot once you get going into the season."

Three weeks in, Cadet has been inactive twice and has logged just one touch -- a receiver screen that went for two yards against the Bills. Given the way Lewis has played and the presence of LeGarrette Blount, it may be hard for Cadet to get a shot. As Fears said, "he's just got to take advantage of his opportunity when it comes."

The story pointed out: running backs are often injured, and opportunities come up for backups frequently. Look at Lewis' path: Cadet suffered his hamstring injury on Aug. 8, and Lewis returned from a hamstring injury of his own on Aug. 15. Blount, meanwhile, missed practice from Aug. 7 to Aug. 11 with a knee tweak. This isn't to say that Cadet needs an injury to occur for him to get on the field, the story added. His skill set is unique, and the Pats may very well see him as more of a receiver than a running back. In certain gameplans, Cadet's route-running ability could earn him significant snaps. One just never knows what the Pats will do, but they have a couple of options behind Lewis when it comes to pass-catching RBs.