Fox Sports’ “Undisputed” host Skip Bayless is not buying the New England Patriots-Ezekiel Elliott hype. As a matter of fact, Bayless does not fear Elliott at all.
Elliott is coming off a season that saw him record 231 carries for 876 yards and 12 touchdowns with the Dallas Cowboys. He took on the No. 2 running back role in Dallas last season behind Tony Pollard, who ultimately surpassed him as the top back.
Still, the former Ohio State star may have a lot left in the tank at age 28.
Bayless appeared on Fox Sports 1 Thursday and did not hold back when discussing Elliott’s production and future. He indicated he will not miss Elliott in a white and blue uniform, as transcribed by NESN.com’s Adam London.
“I’ll say it again about Zeke: I was his biggest fan,” Bayless said. “Certainly, his rookie year, but that was by far his best year. That was his one and only great, great year during which he literally carried my Dallas Cowboys all the way to the (No.) 1 seed in the NFC. His stats went consistently down, down, down, down, down as he suffered the fate of what I call ‘Earl Campbell Syndrome.’ He just took too many hits, too quickly. He used up his hits in the National Football League.
“You’ve heard of shot fighters — just taking too many punches. You’ve heard of cauliflower ear in boxing. To me, Zeke is a shot back. He just died for too many Cowboy causes over these seven years. I don’t think he has much left. I will not miss him. I will not fear him when New England comes to play at Dallas. I will not fear Zeke. I’m sure he’ll suck it up and give whatever he has left to give.”
This is certainly an interesting take, given that Elliott was still productive last season, albeit in a smaller role.
The tandem of Rhamondre Stevenson and Elliott should make for a better running back room in 2023. Although Elliott may not be the player he once was, he should still put the Patriots in a position to have a formidable rushing attack.
New England will need every weapon at their disposal in 2023. The AFC East as a whole is going to be a division full of talent, and the Patriots need to keep up.
