There could be some interesting competition brewing for free agent running back Ezekiel Elliott.
As previously noted, it was reported on Saturday that the former Dallas Cowboys’ star is visiting with the New England Patriots. Interestingly, New England’s arch-rival may also be in on the Elliott sweepstakes.
According to Jeff Howe of The Athletic, the New York Jets “have also shown interest in” the veteran running back. Howe added that the three-time Pro Bowler “is expected to” mull over his choices before he picks a team.
Breece Hall is the No. 1 running back on the Jets’ depth chart, but he’s still recovering from surgery on a season-ending ACL tear suffered last October. The other Jets’ running backs are Zonovan Knight, Michael Carter and Israel Abanikanda.
Tony Pollard finishes as the Cowboys’ leading rusher (1,007 yards) in 2022 despite having 38 less carries than Elliott, who finished with 876 rushing yards. If Elliott hadn’t missed two games, he could’ve very well hit 1,000 yards rushing for the fifth time in seven years.
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The Jets haven’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since Chris Ivory, who had 1,070 yards and seven rushing scores in the 2015 season. A Robert Saleh-coached team will always lean heavily on the ground game, so adding a proven veteran like Elliott certainly makes sense here.
For his career, the 28-year-old Elliott has 8,262 rushing yards and 68 rushing touchdowns.
