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At 12-3, the New England Patriots are in a very good spot heading into the 2026 NFL playoffs. They hold first place in the AFC East with a one-game lead over the Buffalo Bills, have a second-year quarterback in heavy consideration for an MVP award, and get to finish out the regular season against the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, who have a combined 9-21 record.
And on Tuesday, December 23, the Patriots added another potential weapon to their already impressive offense, signing ex-49ers running back Elijah Mitchell to their practice squad after being released by the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this season, according to The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov.
“The #Patriots have signed former 49ers RB Elijah Mitchell to their practice squad,” Meirov wrote. “He was recently released by the Chiefs.”
Initially drafted in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Louisiana by the 49ers, Mitchell burst out to an impressive start in 2021, running the ball 207 times for 963 yards and five touchdowns to establish himself as San Francisco’s unlikely RB1. Mitchell did not, however, match those expectations in his subsequent seasons in Santa Clara, appearing in just 16 games over his final three seasons, where he rushed for just 560 yards on 120 attempts. After spending the final year of his rookie-scale contract on IR, Mitchell signed a one-year deal with the Chiefs but only appeared in one game before being released on December 20.
Will Mitchell see any action for the Patriots? Only time will tell, but after watching his team get eliminated from the playoffs earlier in the month, Mitchell has another chance to return to the postseason as a member of the Patriots.
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