FOXBORO, MASS. (WHDH) - It’s a “prove it” year for new Patriots running back Ezekiel Elliott as the 28-year-old comes to Foxboro after seven years with the Dallas Cowboys.
Elliot signed a one-year deal with the Patriots last week. Speaking in his first interview since the deal, Elliot on Wednesday said the Patriots are a good fit for him.
“The transition has been good,” Elliot told reporters. “I’ve been getting along with the team.”
“You know, I love the coaches, love this atmosphere, love this program,” he continued.
Elliot said he is “having fun,” already enjoying his time as a Patriot.
Despite his late start to training camp, Elliot also said he is in a good place both mentally and physically.
“I feel good,” he said. “I feel like I’m ready to play.”
“I’m still getting in that playbook, trying to know it the way I should,” Elliot said. “But I’m getting there.”
Elliot rushed for a career-low 878 yards last season, prompting questions about how much he has left in the tank. In comments on Wednesday, Elliot was ignoring the noise.
“I don’t think any outside entity could put more pressure on me than the expectation I have for myself,” he said. “So, it’s not really to go out there and prove anything to anyone, but to just go out there and show what type of player I am.”
As for Elliot’s first impressions of his new head coach:
“He’s a great coach,” Elliot said of Bill Belichick. “He’s a funny guy. He demands excellence of this team and he knows how to get it out of you.”
Elliot did not see any game action last week in New England’s preseason game in Green Bay.
He said he will be good to go, though, if called upon in this week’s preseason finale against the Tennessee Titans on Friday.
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