 Michel with theGeorgia Bulldogs in 2018 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 26, 25, 20 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Running back | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1995-02-17)February 17, 1995 (age 30) Hollywood, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Heritage (Plantation, Florida) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Georgia (2014–2017) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2018: 1st round, 31st overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Sony Michel (born February 17, 1995) is an American former professionalfootballrunning back who played in theNational Football League (NFL) for five seasons. He playedcollege football for theGeorgia Bulldogs and was selected by theNew England Patriots in the first round of the2018 NFL draft.[1] During his first season with the Patriots, he was a member of the team that wonSuper Bowl LIII, and scored the game's only touchdown. After two more seasons with the Patriots, Michel spent the 2021 season withLos Angeles Rams, winningSuper Bowl LVI, and his final season with theLos Angeles Chargers.
Michel's parents emigrated fromHaiti.[2] Michel attendedAmerican Heritage School inPlantation, Florida, where he was the startingrunning back for the American Heritage Patriots, beginning in his eighth-grade year there.[3] As an eighth grader, he was named theSun Sentinel 3A-2A-2B-1A-1B Player of the Year after rushing for 1,825 yards and 20 touchdowns, including a 281-yard performance againstNorth Broward Prep.[4] As a senior, Michel rushed for 1,833 yards and 24touchdowns. Over three years playing onvarsity,[citation needed] he rushed for 4,758 yards and 63 touchdowns. He was rated byRivals.com as a five-star recruit and was ranked as the third-best running back and 13th-best player overall.[5] Michel committed to theUniversity of Georgia on April 26, 2013, to playcollege football.[6][7]
Michel also competed intrack and field at American Heritage; as a sophomore in 2011, he earned first-place finishes in both the100-meter dash (10.99s) and200-meter dash (21.91s) at theFHSAA 2A District Meet.[8] He posted a personal-best time of 10.64w in the 100-meter dash at the 3rd Annual Miramar Invitational, where he placed first.[9]
As atrue freshman at Georgia in 2014, Michel played in eight games and made one start. He missed five games due to afractured shoulder blade.[10] He rushed for 410 yards on 64carries with five rushing touchdowns.[11] Michel entered 2015 as a backup toNick Chubb, but earned extensive playing time.[12][13] After Chubb was injured in a game against theTennessee Volunteers, Michel took over as the starter and ran for 145 yards.[14] In the 2016 season, Michel totaled 840 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns to go along with 22receptions for 149 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown.[15]
In 2017, with true freshmanJake Fromm starting at quarterback for the Bulldogs, the team relied heavily on its senior running backs, Chubb and Michel, to carry the load. Despite remaining second in the depth chart behind Chubb, and receiving only two-thirds as many carries as Chubb, Michel had a breakout year, finishing with 1,227 rushing yards (156 carries), only 118 yards fewer than Chubb's 1,345 (223 carries). In a blowout game againstVanderbilt on October 7, Michel rushed for 150 yards and a score on only 12 carries.[16] Three weeks later, in an October 28 rout ofFlorida, Michel rushed for 137 yards on only 6 carries, scoring twice on runs of 74 yards and 45 yards.[17]
Michel's biggest game of the year came on New Year's Day againstOklahoma in theRose Bowl, Georgia's first-everCollege Football Playoff game. Carrying the ball only 11 times, Michel ran for 181 yards and three touchdowns, including awalk-off 27-yard rushing touchdown from the "Wild Dawg" formation (direct snap to Michel) to end the game in double overtime.[18] He also added four receptions for 41 yards and a fourth touchdown. For his performance, Michel was named Rose Bowl Offensive MVP.[19]
Chubb and Michel's 326 combined rushing yards in the Rose Bowl gave them a combined 8,259 career rushing yards, surpassingEric Dickerson andCraig James'NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision record of 8,192.[20]
| Season | Team | GP | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | |||
| 2014 | Georgia | 8 | 64 | 410 | 6.4 | 75 | 5 | 7 | 106 | 15.1 | 33 | 1 |
| 2015 | Georgia | 13 | 219 | 1,136 | 5.3 | 66 | 8 | 26 | 270 | 10.4 | 48 | 3 |
| 2016 | Georgia | 12 | 152 | 840 | 5.5 | 42 | 4 | 22 | 149 | 6.8 | 33 | 1 |
| 2017 | Georgia | 14 | 156 | 1,227 | 7.9 | 55 | 16 | 9 | 96 | 10.7 | 11 | 1 |
| Career | 47 | 590 | 3,613 | 6.1 | 75 | 33 | 64 | 621 | 9.7 | 48 | 6 | |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Bench press | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft10+5⁄8 in (1.79 m) | 214 lb (97 kg) | 31+1⁄4 in (0.79 m) | 9+1⁄8 in (0.23 m) | 4.54 s | 1.56 s | 2.62 s | 4.21 s | 22 reps | ||||
| All values fromNFL Combine[21][22] | ||||||||||||
Michel was selected by theNew England Patriots in the first round of the2018 NFL draft with the 31st overall pick.[23] He was the third running back to be selected that year.[24] In addition, he was the third of six Georgia Bulldogs to be selected that year.[25] Michel andIsaiah Wynn were the first pair of college teammates selected by the same team in the first round sinceAuburn playersJason Campbell andCarlos Rogers were taken in the2005 NFL draft by theWashington Redskins.[26]
Michel suffered a knee injury intraining camp causing him to miss the entire preseason and the season-opener against theHouston Texans.[27] He made his NFL debut in Week 2 against theJacksonville Jaguars. He rushed 10 times for 34 yards and had a six-yard reception in the 31–20 road loss.[28] Two weeks later against theMiami Dolphins, he had a breakout game with 26 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown in the 38–7 victory.[29] Michel became the first rookie to top 100 rushing yards in a game for the Patriots sinceBrandon Bolden in 2012.[30] In the next game against theIndianapolis Colts, Michel rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown as the Patriots won 38–24.[31] In the next game against theKansas City Chiefs, he rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns in a narrow 43–40 victory onSunday Night Football.[32] In the process, Michel became the first New England rookie to score on the ground twice in a game sinceLaurence Maroney in 2006.[33] During a Week 12 27–13 road victory over theNew York Jets, he ran for a career-high 133 yards and a touchdown, the most rushing yards by a Patriot rookie since Brandon Bolden ran for 137 yards in 2012.[34] This game was his third time breaking the century mark, making him the first Patriots rookie sinceRobert Edwards did so in 1998.[35] In a Week 16 victory against theBuffalo Bills, Michel had 18 carries for 116 yards and a touchdown.[36]
Michel finished his rookie year with 931 rushing yards and six touchdowns along with seven receptions for 50 yards.[37] The Patriots finished atop theAFC East with an 11–5 record and earned the No. 2 seed for theAmerican Football Conference (AFC) Playoffs, including a first-round bye.[38] In theDivisional Round against theLos Angeles Chargers, Michel had 24 carries for 129 yards and three touchdowns in a 41–28 victory.[39] During theAFC Championship against the Chiefs, he ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries in the 37–31 overtime road victory.[40] Michel broke the NFL record for most playoff rushing touchdowns for a rookie, scoring five between the divisional and conference championship games.[41] On February 3, 2019, he scored the only touchdown ofSuper Bowl LIII against theLos Angeles Rams, carrying 18 times for a game-leading 94 yards. The go-ahead touchdown occurred in the middle of the fourth quarter in the 13–3 victory. Michel was the leading rusher in the game[42] and extended his rookie postseason rushing record to six touchdowns in three games; he scored six touchdowns in 13 regular-season games.[43] OnlyHall of Fame running backTerrell Davis has rushed for more touchdowns in a single postseason than Michel; Davis scored eight touchdowns in four games in the 1997 postseason.[44] Michel is the first player since Davis with more than four rushing touchdowns in one postseason.[45]
During Week 2 against the Dolphins, Michel rushed 21 times for 83 yards and his first rushing touchdown of the season in the 43–0 shutout road victory.[46] Three weeks later against theWashington Redskins, he rushed 16 times for 91 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 32 yards in the 33–7 road victory.[47] Two weeks later against the Jets, Michel rushed 19 times for 42 yards and three touchdowns in the 33–0 shutout road victory.[48]
Overall, Michel finished the 2019 season with 247 carries for 912 rushing yards and seven touchdowns along with 12 receptions for 94 yards.[49]
Michel was placed on the active/physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp on August 2, 2020.[50] He was activated from the list on August 26.[51] In Week 3, Michel recorded 140 scrimmage yards (117 rushing, 23 receiving) in the 36–20 victory over theLas Vegas Raiders.[52] He was placed oninjured reserve on October 5, 2020, with a quadriceps injury.[53] He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Patriots on October 17, 2020,[54] and removed from the list back to injured reserve on October 31.[55] He was activated off of injured reserve on November 21, 2020.[56] Despite being activated, Michel had limited playing time after second year running backDamien Harris played well when Michel was out and took over as the starting running back. However, Michel got more playing time after an injury to Harris. In Week 17 against the Jets, Michel carried the ball 16 times for 76 yards, and caught three passes for 60 yards and his first career receiving touchdown during the 28–14 win.[57] Overall, Michel finished the 2020 season with 449 rushing yards and one touchdown, along with seven receptions for 114 yards and one touchdown.[58]
Michel was traded to the Rams on August 25, 2021, in exchange for a fifth and sixth round pick in the2022 NFL draft.[59] In Week 13, against the Jaguars, he had 24 carries for 121 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown in the 37–7 victory.[60] In Week 16, against theMinnesota Vikings, he had 27 carries for 131 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 30–23 victory.[61] He finished the 2021 season with 208 carries for 845 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns to go along with 21 receptions for 128 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.[62] Michel won his second Super Bowl title when the Rams defeated theCincinnati Bengals inSuper Bowl LVI.[63] In the Super Bowl, Michel had two carries for two yards.[64]
On May 10, 2022, Michel signed with the Dolphins.[65] He was released on August 29, 2022.[66]
On August 31, 2022, Michel signed with the Chargers.[67] He was released on December 31, 2022.[68]
On June 20, 2023, Michel signed with the Rams.[69]
Michel announced his retirement on July 29, 2023.[70] According to Rams head coachSean McVay, Michel said his body was telling him it was time to retire.[71]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2018 | NE | 13 | 8 | 209 | 931 | 4.5 | 34 | 6 | 7 | 50 | 7.1 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2019 | NE | 16 | 14 | 247 | 912 | 3.7 | 26 | 7 | 12 | 94 | 7.8 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2020 | NE | 9 | 6 | 79 | 449 | 5.7 | 48 | 1 | 7 | 114 | 16.3 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | LAR | 17 | 7 | 208 | 845 | 4.1 | 39 | 4 | 21 | 128 | 6.1 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2022 | LAC | 10 | 0 | 36 | 106 | 2.9 | 12 | 0 | 9 | 53 | 5.9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 65 | 35 | 779 | 3,243 | 4.2 | 48 | 18 | 56 | 439 | 7.8 | 31 | 2 | 4 | 3 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2018 | NE | 3 | 2 | 71 | 336 | 4.7 | 40 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | NE | 1 | 0 | 14 | 61 | 4.4 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | LAR | 3 | 1 | 24 | 78 | 3.3 | 35 | 0 | 3 | −8 | −2.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 7 | 3 | 109 | 475 | 4.4 | 40 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 1.7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Michel's older brother,Marken Michel, is a wide receiver for theCalgary Stampeders of theCanadian Football League, and was the 2017 West Division Most Outstanding Rookie with them.[72][73]
Michel is aChristian. Michel has said, “Without Jesus Christ, our Lord, and Savior, there is none of this. We get all this glory, but the glory is not for us, it’s for Him. We do this for Him. That’s kind of my purpose. So really, none of this matters to me.”[74]
