
New Detroit Lions head coach will have a bit of a familiar face in his locker room next season in running back LeGarrette Blount. The Lions and Blount have agreed to terms on a one-year, $4.5 million contract, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
The #Lions are signing FA RB LeGarrette Blount to a 1-year deal worth $4.5M, source said. He’s back with Matt Patricia, as the New England ties are strong.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2018
Of course, Blount signing one-year deals the past couple seasons has been a good luck charm, which has some wishful-thinking Lions fans shooting for the stars.
2016 – Patriots sign LeGarrette Blount to a one-year deal.
Win Super Bowl.
2017 – Eagles sign LeGarrette Blount to a one-year deal.
Win Super Bowl.
2018 – Lions sign LeGarrette Blount to a one-year deal.
?????
— Pride of Detroit (@PrideOfDetroit) March 17, 2018
Although Patricia was New England’s defensive coordinator and didn’t directly work with LeGarrette Blount, he’s certainly aware of what the running back is capable of. Blount had perhaps the best span of his career during his three-plus seasons with the Patriots.
Blount is 31-years-old, which some consider over the hill for running backs, but his style – bruising power with relatively unimpressive speed – tends to age better than speed backs who lose a step later in their career(s).
For his career, Blount has amassed 5,888 yards on 1,341 carries (a 4.4-yard average). His real value, though, comes at the goal line, where few backs possess the bruising style Blount has on carries close to the end zone. He had 18 scores in 2016 alone for the Patriots, and 51 over his eight-year career.
Last season Blount had just two touchdowns but was pretty successful on the ground, going for 766 yards on 173 carries. His production, however, fell off after the Eagles acquired running back Jay Ajayi from the Miami Dolphins in a mid-season trade.