Why are the Patriots stockpiling so many RBs?

Is it possible to have too many running backs?

It seems like the Super Bowl champions are endeavoring to answer that question this offseason.

Despite already having Dion Lewis and James White on the roster, the New England Patriots signed Rex Burkhead and Mike Gillislee to their backfield in free agency.

That's an awful lot of good running backs set to compete for touches. And it's a lot of money to commit to the position, too.

The Patriots gave Burkhead $3.15 million on a one-year deal, which won't break the bank but seems an unnecessary expenditure for a player with a skill set that's largely redundant to both Lewis and White.

Then, on the heels of his dominant performance in the Super Bowl, the Patriots signed White to an extension worth $12 million over three years. The same day, they paid Gillislee $6.4 million over two seasons to steal the restricted free agent away from the Buffalo Bills.

All of this from a team that hadn't paid a running back more than $2 million per year in nearly a decade.

Perhaps the Patriots' most puzzling move came this week, when the team broke out the rarely used May 9 tender on free agent LeGarrette Blount.

The tender makes it difficult for Blount to sign with any team except the Patriots because it extends the period for which he counts toward the compensatory draft pick formula. If Blount remains unsigned on July 22, his options are to sign the tender and earn $1.1 million from the Patriots or negotiate with the Patriots (and only the Patriots) until Week 10.

Why do the reigning champions think they need so many options at running back? The answer isn't entirely clear, but it's possible the Patriots believe they can gain an advantage over their opponents by always having fresh legs in the backfield.

The 2016 postseason seemed to prove that model works. Blount carried the Patriots to several regular-season wins, especially during Tom Brady's suspension, but wasn't effective in the postseason. The 299 carries he handled from Weeks 1-17 might have had something to do with why his yards per carry average dropped by nearly a full yard in January.

It was Lewis' record-setting night in the Divisional Round (he became the first player ever to score a rushing touchdown, receiving touchdown, and return touchdown in a playoff game) that propelled the Patriots to victory. Lewis was fresh for the postseason, having played only seven regular-season games where he handled just 81 touches.

So was White. He played all 16 regular-season games, but fell one short of hitting the 100-touch mark. And, of course, we all saw what White's fresh legs did to the Atlanta Falcons.

With so many viable tailback options on the roster, might the Patriots continue implementing a fresh legs/hot hand approach in 2017? Would it be crazy to rest one or more running backs every other week, or maybe for a month-long stretch, to ensure they remain in prime condition for the playoffs? Maybe not.

In fact, we've seen some evidence that other teams could be taking a similar approach.

Despite already having promising young runners Thomas Rawls, C.J. Prosise, and Alex Collins on the roster, the Seattle Seahawks sniffed around Adrian Peterson in free agency before signing Eddie Lacy.

Peterson eventually signed with the New Orleans Saints, who already had Mark Ingram as strong early-down option, and Travaris Cadet as a third-down back. The Saints then shocked draftniks by trading away a 2018 second-round pick to move up for Alvin Kamara in the third round of the draft. That's a huge price to pay for a player who slots in as a third-stringer.

Not every team seems to believe more is merrier at running back, however. At the other end of the spectrum are the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that arguably has been ousted from the three straight postseasons primarily because star running back Le'Veon Bell was hurt.

The Steelers made no effort to re-sign Bell's backup, DeAngelo Williams, in free agency and spent just a third-round compensatory pick on James Conner to upgrade their depth at the position.

The Arizona Cardinals are in a somewhat similar situation. With bellcow David Johnson atop the depth chart and next to nothing behind him, the Cardinals didn't sign a tailback in free agency and didn't address their need at the position until the fifth round of the draft.

Both Bell and Johnson will be tasked with carrying the Steelers and Cardinals, respectively, not only to the postseason but all the way to the Super Bowl. Each has more than sufficient talent, but will never be more than one carry away from a derailing injury.

Will the sum of the Patriots' parts be greater than the Steelers', Cardinals', or any other team's? The remains to be seen, but it doesn't look like a bad bet. What may at first have appeared as a tailback shopping frenzy could prove to be a series of shrewd buys.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)