After being released by the Dallas Cowboys after six seasons, Ezekiel Elliott is expected to sign with the New England Patriots (Via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport)
Elliott had a successful tenure in Dallas in which he rushed for over 1,000 yards in four out of the six seasons in Dallas, was awarded First-Team All-Pro in 2016, and was the rushing leader in 2016 and 2018.
But injuries and the emergence of Tony Pollard made Ezekiel Elliott’s status as the franchise back untenable.
The expectation after Elliott signed a six-year extension worth $90 million was that he was going to be the next Emmitt Smith never materialized as Elliott lost his elusiveness and burst that made him more of a ground-and-pound instead of a quicker back who could elude defenders.
What this expected signing means for Ezekiel Elliott and the New England Patriots.
The New England Patriots love having bigger backs on the roster. New England has Rhamondre Stevenson, JJ Taylor, Ty Montgomery, Pierre Strong Jr, and C.J. Marable on the team as running backs.
With the expected signing of Elliott, the Patriots have two bigger backs who can help third-year quarterback Mac Jones and an offense that was one of the worst in the NFL last year (via ESPN)
The idea is that if the passing game is clicking on all cylinders, continuously running Stevenson and Elliott at the opposing defenses, especially in cold weather games, that will quickly improve the Patriots’ offense.
While Ezekiel Elliott is a different back than when he first got to the league, he won’t have to worry about having a featured role in the offense. New England has always taken a running-back-by-committee approach and expects that to continue as he joins a top-notch organization with an acumen for winning.
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