Patriots sign Ezekiel Elliott to a one-year contract worth $6 million

The New England Patriots are getting some much-needed help in the backfield by agreeing to sign Ezekiel Elliott to a one-year deal.

A three-time Pro Bowler, Elliott and his former team, the Dallas Cowboys, parted ways in March for salary cap reasons and declining performances.

During the 2022 regular season, he averaged a mere 3.8 yards per carry and only 876 yards on the ground, the lowest statistically for him since entering the league.

An All-Pro in 2016, the 28-year-old found the end zone 12 times last season, the second-highest total of his career (15 in 2016), while he made 17 grabs for 92 yards.

In his time with the Cowboys, Elliott featured in 103 games, rushing 1,881 times for 8,262 yards and 68 touchdowns, to go along with 2,336 yards and another 12 scores through the air.

He was the fourth overall draft pick by Dallas in 2016, leading the league in rushing yards during his rookie campaign that year with 1,631 yards, the third-highest total ever by a first-year NFL running back behind Eric Dickerson (1,808 in 1983) and George Rogers (1,674 in 1981).

Elliott would win the rushing title again in 2018 (1,434 yards), making his last Cowboys appearance during last season’s NFC Divisional Round when he rushed for 26 yards in a 19-12 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

It appeared his time in Dallas was ending after Tony Pollard got the bulk of the carries for the Cowboys in 2022, racking up 1,0007 yards on the ground and earning a Pro Bowl selection before being franchise tagged.

In 2022 New England ranked 24th in rushing, with an average of 4.3 yards per carry and 106.6 yards per game.

The new deal given to Elliott includes a $3 million base salary, $1 million in signing bonuses and with incentives, the contract can be worth up to $6 million.

The former Ohio State back visited the Pats last month and is expected to shoulder the load of carries alongside Rhamondre Stevenson.