It was announced on Ezekiel Elliott’s social media this week that he plans on signing with the Patriots. The deal is reportedly for 1-year that’s worth $6 million according to NFL.com.

And to be honest, I hate it.

That’s not to say I hate the pickup of Ezekiel Elliott. The 28-year-old was a stud in Dallas as a Cowboy. He led the league in rushing two times during his pro career. Last year he finished with 12 rushing TD’s and 124 yards shy of 1,000 yards on the ground. He’s not yet over the hill, but he’s getting there.

My problem is the consistent lack of effort the Patriots do in order to get big names. We can’t forget DeAndre Hopkins was up for grabs, but went to the Titans instead. The biggest issue with that signing was money, and getting Elliott for $6M is SOMEWHAT a steal. Bill Belichick never spends a lot of money on offensive players. And nobody questions it because it’s held effective for the last two decades. However, ever since Tom Brady left, it’s time to change that theme.

Spending big money on receivers, tight ends, and quarterbacks need to be something New England has to look into. They can’t just keep trying to develop guys on defense and hope the offense figures things out. And then when cornerbacks want a payday they let them go. Not even bringing in Bill O’Brien in as the offensive coordinator will change anything.

This doesn’t change the trajectory of the Patriots season. Not with the Jets having Aaron Rodgers, Miami with Tyreek Hill, and the Bills with Josh Allen and those guys. The AFC East is stacked, Patriots are going to need more than a stiff defense and solid running game to win late in the season.