Getty Bill Belichick and the Patriots have been looking for a veteran running back.
Increasingly, it appears that former Vikings star running back Dalvin Cook will land in the AFC East—but not in New England. According to Albert Breer of MMQB, Cook, “wants to be in New York,” despite also getting interest from the Patriots and Dolphins in the months since he was cut by Minnesota.
But the Patriots are not out of the running for a big-name back—Ezekiel Elliott of the Cowboys—according to Jeff Howe of The Athletic, a former Patriots reporter who still has ties to the team.
“The Patriots have remained highly interested in Ezekiel Elliott, and the Cowboys are also in the mix to re-sign the 28-year-old, according to league sources. The New York Jets have also been in on Elliott,” Howe reported on Sunday. He added a tidbit about Cook, too, writing that the Patriots are, “almost certainly not going in that direction.”
Elliott, a three-time Pro Bowl back, was released by Dallas in March, but the Cowboys could yet bring him back into the fold.
Elliott Was a League Leader Early in Cowboys Career
New England hosted Elliott on a sort of free-agent recruiting venture last weekend, though he left the team without a contract and remains unsigned.
Elliott was a workhorse to open his career in Dallas, which saw him go for 96.5 yards per game on 20.9 carries per game in his first four seasons. He led the league twice in yardage, in 2016 and 2018, when he also led in attempts. But Elliott has dropped off considerably since. In 2022, he tallied career lows in rushing yardage (876), and yards per carry (3.8). He once caught 77 passes out of the backfield, back in 2018, but last season that dropped to 17.
While there has been interest in re-signing Elliott in Dallas, coach Mike McCarthy indicated that he hoped the team would not do so.
“This wasn’t easy for anybody,” McCarthy told reporters. “This is about the bigger picture. It goes well beyond just the running back room. It’s how you fit it together. Then, there’s a financial projection that’s involved in a lot of these decisions. This is the roster that we’ve put together, and it’s my job to make sure I develop it at all times, more importantly get trained here to go win games.”
Patriots in Need of RB Depth
Elliott would not come to New England to be the starter, a job that belongs to Rhamondre Stevenson, the team’s fourth-round pick in 2021. Stevenson cracked the 1,000-yard mark last season despite only landing the starting job for seven games, and had some big performances to his credit—a 161-yard showing in Week 5 against Detroit and 172 yards in a loss to Las Vegas in Week 14. Stevenson is also an excellent receiver, who made 69 catches on the year.
But Stevenson remains light on experience, and the Patriots are not especially deep behind him. Combo back Ty Montgomery, coming back from a shoulder injury he suffered in Week 1 last year, is No. 2 on the depth chart, followed by promising 2022 fourth-round pick Pierre Strong, who has 10 carries under his NFL belt.
That’s the reason the Patriots are entertaining the notion of signing Elliott, or Cook (or Leonard Fournette) in the first place. If Stevenson can step up to the role of every-week starter and if Montgomery is fully healthy all year, the Patriots wouldn’t need to make additions. But they can’t rely on that, so the search for veteran depth goes on.