Patriots' Mac Jones Reveals Dinner Details With Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott
Quarterback Mac Jones recently discussed free-agent running back Ezekiel Elliott's visit to the New England Patriots, and specifically a photo that made the rounds on social media of the two eating together at a restaurant.
But he did it in the most Patriot way possible.
In an answer likely to make coach Bill Belichick proud, Jones was complimentary of Elliott without even mentioning his name, and stressing how good the internal options the Patriots already have at running back are.
"Yeah, I think it's really important, as you know, as a leader to just try and go out there and show them that we're all here to be together and to win," Jones said.
"They've done that here for forever, and we're trying to get back to that more consistently. I think the guys that we have on our team are doing a really good job. I think whenever I have a chance to kind of explain and try to get them on the team, it's a good thing. It's never a bad thing, right? You want to have as many great players as you can. I've just been really pleased with the guys we have in the room, because it's plenty enough, and we just have got to come together and make it work."
For whatever tension may have existed between Jones and Belichick last season, this was a textbook Patriots press conference answer by the third-year quarterback. He answered the question in a respectful manner, without really saying a ton of note. Nothing here could offend any of the running backs the Patriots employ -- quite the opposite, really -- nor does it tip the hand of New England.
It's unclear how serious the Patriots interest in Elliott is. They, of course, had former All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins in for a seemingly productive visit before allowing him to sign with the Tennessee Titans. There's no guarantee the Patriots will offer the 28-year-old Elliott a contract.
With that said, Elliott would be an interesting compliment in the backfield to Rhamondre Stevenson, who has averaged 4.8 yards per carry in his first two NFL seasons. Elliott may no longer be one of the league's elite running backs, but with a lesser workload than what he had during his seven seasons, he could still be valuable depth for a Patriots team trying to navigate through a loaded AFC East.
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