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Ezekiel Elliott agreed to terms with the Patriots on a one-year deal, helping address one of the thinnest positions on the roster, according to multiple reports.

Elliott's one-year deal with the Patriots includes a $3 million base salary, a $1 million signing bonus and can be worth up to $6 million with incentives, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

According to ESPN.com's Mike Reiss, Elliott, who spent the first seven years of his career with the Dallas Cowboys, projects as a top complement to No. 1 option Rhamondre Stevenson.

Reiss went on to note the Patriots have traditionally split the early-down workload between two running backs under coach Bill Belichick, who spoke directly to Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones for insight and evaluation of the former two-time NFL rushing champion before hosting him on a visit last month, a source told ESPN's Ed Werder.

Elliott, who was released by the Cowboys on March 15 in a salary cap move, had a career-low 876 rushing yards in 2022, but he scored 12 touchdowns and remained a top short-yardage back and pass protector.

His arrival will almost certainly diminish Stevenson's value.

As CBSSports.com's Chris Towers explained, "IIn theory, signing Elliott to handle some of the low-value, between-the-tackles work wouldn't be a bad thing for Stevenson, who could still be the goal-line and passing downs back while potentially taking on less injury risk. The problem is, while Elliott is far removed from the days when he was legitimately one of the best running backs in the league, he was still a very good short-yardage back last season."

How good?

According to Sharp Football's Rich Hribar, Elliott had a 68.9 percent first-down/touchdown rate on non-first downs needing 1-3 yards, ranking 13th in the league. His 72.0 percent conversion rate on third downs ranked eighth. Elliott was also 62.5 percent inside of the 5-yard line, ranking 10th.

Stevenson converted the first down with 1-3 yards to go at a slightly lower rate than Elliott, but not so much that you could say it was a weakness in his game. However, if nothing else, Elliott represents real competition for at least those high-value touches, which is a real concern in an offense that may not throw to the running backs as much as we've gotten used to.

Considering all that,l Towers contends if Elliott takes even 40 perecent of the goal-line touches in what will probably be a mediocre offense and the Patriots don't throw to their running backs as often as we've gotten used to, the path to a top-12 RB finish becomes a lot narrower.

"He could still get there," Towers added, "but he probably needs Elliott to be a non-factor or for the offense to be significantly better than expected or for the Patriots to throw to their running backs as often as they have in the past. ..."

Remember: The Patriots' lack of depth at running back has been notable during training camp. Stevenson has been backed up by second-year players Pierre Strong Kevin Harris, but Strong -- a 2022 fourth-round draft pick out of South Dakota State -- has been out of practice for undisclosed reasons the last two days. Also, veteran Ty Montgomery has been sidelined by a left leg/knee injury sustained in the second practice of camp.

Third-year player J.J Taylor and former USFL rusher C.J. Marable round out the depth chart. The Patriots had signed former Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets running back James Robinson in March, but he was released in June.