What Does Zeke Elliott bring to New England's offence, to its Sideline, and to its locker room ? Experience. Depth . And a difference maker. After several looks at his teams depth chart at running back and one preseason game, Bill Belichick decided he couldn't wait any longer. And agreed to a one year deal with the former Cowboys running back. According to multiple sources the deal has a base salary of 3 million dollars, with a 1 million dollar signing bonus and incentives that could push its number to 6 million.
Let's get one thing clear off the bat here. Zeke Elliot is here as a compliment to starter Rhamonre Stevenson, that's what Bill was looking for and that's what he’s gotten. Dalvin Cook, who was also in the conversation, is not a complimentary back. He has never worked as a complimentary back. Zeke is coming in here understanding his role. Spell the number one guy, short yardage and deep red zone carries. Elliot can certainly check all those boxes. He can give Rhmondra reps off in early downs and run between the tackles 4.4 yards per carry for his career and 3.8 in 2022. He can get you the two yards for a first,. Rhmondea hasn’t in the past. Elliott has rushed 107 first downs since 2021 , he can get you into the endzone 22 sixes since 2021. And most importantly he is great in pass-pro and he wont put the ball on the carpet. Not one fumble lost in his last two seasons in Dallas.
It is my feeling and that of many that Belichick wanted to go with the guys in the running backs room. But injuries to Ty Montgomery and Pierre Strong forced his hand. While he may have wanted to wait a bit longer getting this deal done now and Elliott up to speed in the playbook was the smart move. Going into the season with Stevenson - Strong - Kevin Harris and the ever injured Montgomery was to shaky of a situation. This move plugs one hole. Let's see how many more Bill can fill before camp ends.
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