FOXBORO -- For the second time in his career, Rex Burkhead was a free agent this past offseason and for the second time he signed with the Patriots.
Following the 2016 season, the running back was a free agent and signed a one-year deal with the Patriots and then this offseason he was a free agent again and signed a multi-year deal. Burkhead spent the first four years of his career with the Bengals.
"I love it here," Burkhead said after Wednesday's minicamp session. "I've told many people before, just the atmosphere, the competitive atmosphere, it's what you want as a NFL player. If you want to be the best player you can be, there's no place like this. It raises your level of play and when you try and stride for greatness, the coaches put you in positions to reach that level."
Burkhead praised the coaching staff for keeping things fresh each day and pushing players to get better even during OTAs and minicamp.
"I think the coaches do a great job getting something new every single day that we can work on," he said. "They never let us get comfortable and that is part of our system. I think that is the great thing about it. It makes you a competitor. It makes you come out here every single day really locked in and keyed in on what you need to do."
Once again, the running backs room is very crowded, but Burkhead has stood out as the best back thus far. Rookie Sony Michel and James White are close behind with Jeremy Hill and Mike Gillislee at the bottom of the depth chart. Of course this can all change when the pads go on for training camp in July.
Burkhead noted the competitive atmosphere makes every player better.
"It's a very competitive atmosphere with all the backs we have," he said. "We have very good backs who can do multiple things. Any time you have that atmosphere, whether it is in the film room, individual drills out at practice, it's going to raise the level of play. Ultimately, that is why you're out here, to be the best player you can possibly be and when you're surrounded by guys like that, it's only going to set the tempo for that."
