Cowboys expect Ezekiel Elliott, Will Grier to help Patriots' defense prepare

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ezekiel-elliott-patriots-cowboys — Paul Rutherford/USA TODAY Sports

The Patriots are hitting AT&T Stadium for a Sunday afternoon date with the Cowboys. And might the team have an advantage with Ezekiel Elliott and Will Grier on the roster?

The Dallas coaches are preparing as if they believe Elliott and Grier will spill Cowboy secrets. Elliott starred for the Cowboys from 2016-22. And Grier was Dallas’ QB3 up until late August.

Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said, at a minimum, he’ll change the hand signals for the Patriots game. Because no doubt, the always-prepared Bill Belichick will ask Elliott and Grier to give up some inside intel.

“We’re always aware of it,” Schottenheimer said of prep for the Cowboys-Patriots. “Those are things we monitor every week. But, certainly, we know Will knows where a lot of the bones are buried. Zeke does as well. So those are things you talk about and you think, OK, let’s adjust this. We certainly have more than one hand signal for most of our core concepts.”

The Cowboys waived Elliott this spring for financial reasons. He didn’t sign with the Patriots until training camp. Although he had plenty of access to his former teammates — he and Dak Prescott worked out together in the offseason — he doesn’t know the new offense. The Cowboys installed it during OTAs, minicamp and training camp.

Will Grier played all of the Cowboys final preseason game. He got cut days later. He’s now with the Patriots and Cowboys coaches are expecting that the reserve QB will talk to the Patriots defensive coaches about the Dallas offense. (Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports)

But Grier does know the playbook. Up until an unexpected trade with the 49ers for Trey Lance, Grier was sticking with Dallas, But the Cowboys put him on waivers on the cut to 53. Coach Mike McCarthy planned to re-sign Grier to the practice squad. However, Grier signed with the Bengals to be a backup to Joe Burrow. Then last week, Grier unexpectedly joined the Patriots after the team dropped hints they were re-adding Matt Corral.

Schottenheimer says that if the Patriots rely too much on some tidbit Grier or Elliott cou;d provide, maybe the Cowboys own the advantage.

“You can use it to your advantage because they think they know what’s coming,” Schottenheimer said. “And they hear something and they think, ‘It’s this’ and we’re smart enough to adjust those things.

“Everybody does it,” the Cowboys offensive coordinator added. “You get a player that’s been somewhere, you talk to him about different things, and then you’re very selective about how much you put into it. Excited to see Will, it’ll be great to see him. But I’m sure he is definitely being interrogated and spending a lot of late nights with their defensive coaching staff.”

Elliott is bringing some momentum with him as he returns to his old haunts wearing a new uniform. He carried the ball 16 times and gained 80 yards in New England’s 15-10 win over the Jets.