Ezekiel Elliott is headed to New England. The running back and the Patriots agreed to a one-year deal this week worth up to $6 million, with a base salary of $3 million and $1 million in signing bonuses as well as incentives.
Elliott joins the Patriots after spending his entire career with the Dallas Cowboys, going back to 2016 when the team took him with the No. 4 overall pick. Zeke was released by the Cowboys in March and had been searching for his new team since.
The Patriots and Cowboys are scheduled to play each other at AT&T Stadium on Oct. 1 at 4:25 p.m. ET, reuniting Elliott with his former teammates, coaches and fans.
After the news broke that Elliott would be making Gillette Stadium home this season, his former head coach Mike McCarthy commented on the signing.
"I'm very excited for Zeke, a great opportunity," McCarthy said, via the Dallas Morning News. "He'll do great up there."
McCarthy says he is "not looking forward" to facing the 28-year-old in Week 4 and having to stop a player he feels will be successful this year. The head coach added that he feels his former offensive star is a "really good fit" for the New England offense lead by quarterback Mac Jones.
McCarthy said "no one felt good about" Elliott's release when it first occurred and said the team was open to the running back returning to Dallas, but obviously that is not how the offseason played out.
Elliott joins Rhamondre Stevenson, who is expected to lead the running back room this season. Once one of the best at his position, Elliott has declined recently, with a career-low 3.8 yards per carry, 968 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns on the ground in 15 games played.
In total, he has played in 103 games, with 8,262 rushing yards, an average of 4.4 yards per carry, 68 rushing touchdowns, 2,336 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns in the air.
Stevenson has 343 rushes for 1,646 yards and 10 touchdowns in 29 games in his career. Last season, he played in all 17 games, with seven starts, 210 rushes for 1,040 yards and five touchdowns. He also had 69 receptions for 421 yards, a significant increase from 2021 when he had 14 receptions for 123 yards.
The Patriots offense struggled significantly last season and the addition of Elliott should help take some pressure off Stevenson while also providing a veteran presence. The Patriots finished 24th in rushing yards with 1,812 and were also in the lower half for rushing touchdowns and rushing first downs. It was clear their running game needed some help this year.
Elliott is not the only big-name player they added this offseason to help their offensive efforts in 2023. They also brought aboard wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster.
