Patriots rumors: Belichick honors Brady, Mac Jones trust, Zeke doubts

Here are the latest New England Patriots rumors you most definitely need to know on Monday.

The NFL season is upon us, so let’s get caught up to speed on all things New England Patriots.

2023 will be year four without Tom Brady under center. While Mac Jones occupies the most sacred quarterback seat for now, head coach Bill Belichick remains ever-present. Although the days of the dynastic run are firmly in the rearview mirror, New England should field a fairly competitive team. Let’s just hope draft picks and free-agent acquisitions like Ezekiel Elliott can them over the top.

Dig into the most healthiest of helpings of Patriots rumors your Evil Empire-loving “soul” craves.

New England Patriots rumors: Is Ezekiel Elliott completely shot already?

After spending most of the NFL offseason as a free agent, former Dallas Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott signed a one-year deal with New England last week. Elliott may be pushing 30, but he should still have something left in the tank, right? Well, Kyle Brandt of Good Morning Football tends to believe the days of feeding Zeke are in the past, as he is a washed-up player.

Here is what Brandt had to say on Good Morning Football last week about Elliott’s overall viability.

"“You turn on the Cowboys games and there hasn’t been a lot. His yards per carry is very low. There just hasn’t been a lot of juice … I don’t think this is going to light up the sky in New England. I’m not reordering my playoff predictions because they got Ezekiel Elliott in 2023.”"

Is there any validity to this, or are we overlooking the fact that Kellen Moore was let go as well?

I think it is a combination of both. Elliott is not what he once was, but he can still be a productive player in the league if used in the right spots. Although Moore will probably have great success as the new offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Chargers, it seems as though his being forced onto Mike McCarthy’s staff was clunky from the start and reached its conclusion in the playoffs.

Honestly, we are only going to know during the season if Elliott has anything left in the tank. Keep in mind that Belichick has built a reputation as one of the best free-agent talent evaluators in NFL history. He knows your roster better than even you do. Although he may have lost a step or two in talent evaluation, I am not going to write off Elliott completely, as other teams wanted to sign him.

If the Patriots did not swoop in, teams like Dallas, Cincinnati and the New York Jets all had interest.