Former Dallas Cowboys’ running back Ezekiel Elliott has agreed to a one-year deal with the New England Patriots, per Adam Schefter.
Compensation update: Zeke Elliott’s one-year deal with the Patriots includes a $3 million base salary, a $1 million signing bonus and can be worth up to $6 million with incentives.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 14, 2023
The news comes a few short weeks after Elliot had a visit in New England but left without a deal. The running back has confirmed the signing on his X (formerly Twitter) account.
One Five, all the way live ! @Patriots
— Ezekiel Elliott (@EzekielElliott) August 14, 2023
Elliott is coming off of a 2022 campaign which saw him play in 15 games and rush for 876 yards and 12 touchdowns. However, he has seen his rushing yards per game decrease every year since his rookie year in 2016. The decrease has gone from 108.7 YPG (2016) to 58.4 YPG (2022).
While it is unknown how much of a workload share the Patriots will now have, it would make sense for them to feature Rhamondre Stevenson and spell him with Elliott in the backfield. Other than Stevenson and Elliott, the running back room is fairly weak. The other running backs are currently Ty Montgomery II, Pierre Strong Jr., Kevin Harris, JJ Taylor, and CJ Marable. It will most likely be the Stevenson/Elliott show in New England this season, but what will that look like?
Assuming the Patriots use a 70-30 or 60-40 split in carries between Stevenson and Elliott, Zeke will be in uncharted territory. He is used to being the RB1, but this situation should be different. Elliott’s role as the RB2 might be unfamiliar, but if he can provide great carries when relieving Stevenson, he might see his role expand with the team.
Ezekiel Elliott Fantasy Impact
Prior to Elliott’s arrival in New England, Stevenson was going as the RB9 in PPR leagues. This might fluctuate somewhat, but Stevenson will still be the lead back and should see most of the work. While the rankings have not been updated following Elliot’s signing, Stevenson should only dip slightly in drafts.
The bigger question is whether or not Elliott can make a difference in fantasy, as he had a career-low 3.7 yards per attempt last season. If he continues to decrease in efficiency, how can he be trusted in fantasy leagues this season? This is especially true since he won’t be the lead back with the Patriots.
Mind you, there are times when changing scenery invigorates a player, and they go off. This will probably not be the case in this instance, as Zeke goes from starter to backup. But the biggest question still remains: who takes the goal line carries for the Patriots this season?
With the Ezekiel Elliott signing in New England, there are now only a few running back dominoes left to fall. All Elliott wants to do is eat, so will the Patriots feed him? Will he overtake the role of lead back by season’s end? Stay tuned as the NFL season is less than four weeks away, and we cannot wait.
Dustin Brown
Dustin Brown is a writer for The League Winners. He enjoys hanging out with my family and friends when not trying to delivering NFL news or fantasy content to win your league. There is no sports stone left unturned when it comes to what he will watch.