The New England Patriots will be without running back Dion Lewis for an undetermined amount of time. It's being reported that Lewis, who missed the final nine games last season with a torn ACL, needs a clean up surgery on the same knee and is out indefinitely. 

This is a major blow to the Patriots. They have absolutely nothing to speak of regarding a running game heading into the season.

LeGarrette Blount had been mentioned as a potential roster casualty. While that's now unlikely to be the case, the loss of Lewis is definitely going to impact New England's running back situation from a fantasy perspective. 

The first point that needs to be made here is what we'd call common sense. Josh McDaniels-led offenses simply don't like to rely on one specific running back. That's magnified with Bill Belichick overseeing the thing from the sideline. 

That's one time in the past five seasons we've seen a Patriots running back put up 200-plus rush attempts. This likely wouldn't have changed with Lewis in the mix. After all, he averaged just seven attempts per game when on the field last season. Instead, it's a broader point regarding Patriots running backs. They simply don't provide any real re-draft or dynasty value. 

With Lewis out, Blount, Brandon Bolden, James White and the newly signed Donald Brown will be competing for touches. Of that group, only Blount seems to be a rosterable option, and even then, that's questionable. 

Bolden has attempted 202 runs in his four seasons with the Patriots, tallying just 63 attempts last season. Meanwhile, White has put up 31 attempts in two seasons. In fact, the former Wisconsin product is seen more as a pass-catching back, as evidenced by the 40 receptions he put up a season ago. 

In reality, the Lewis' injury news pretty much eliminates the Patriots as a fantasy force from the running back position. Even then, he was nothing more than a solid bench option in PPR-heavy contests.