'We'd Love to Sign' Ezekiel Elliott, Patriots WR Says of Cowboys Ex

"Great player," says receiver Kendrick Bourne of the idea of the Patriots signing Cowboys ex Ezekiel Elliott. "We'd love to have him."

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has a standing policy to not discuss personnel hypotheticals in his media sessions. So ...

“Yeah, again, I’ll pass on the guys that aren’t on our team,” Belichick said this weekend in the wake of a visit to Foxboro from former Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, who is now a free agent and shopping his services. (And remaining in the Boston area to have dinner with Mac Jones and others.)

But just because Belichick feels obliged to stay mum doesn't mean his locker room has to follow suit. So ...

"Great player," said receiver Kendrick Bourne said. "We'd love to have him."

Some might argue that Zeke's "greatness'' is a bit behind him, though the two-time NFL rushing champ did score 12 TDs for Dallas, has kept himself in great shape, and has shown class by supporting Tony Pollard and the fellas now sitting in his old Dallas running backs room.

The Patriots have been in search this offseason of some backfield help to work with third-year man Rhamondre Stevenson. It seems the priority would be to find an affordable way to sign free agent Dalvin Cook, who this weekend visited the AFC East rival Jets.

Elliott could be the backup plan for both the Patriots and the Jets, depending on where Cook lands.

Stevenson, who ran for over 1,000 yards is fully expected to be the guy in New England as of right now. Cook could jump ahead of him; Zeke doing do is less likely. But "we'd love to have him''? That seems like a fair and smart assessment of the Patriots view.

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