Elijah Mitchell, a running back whose promising rookie season in 2021 now feels like a distant memory, has been cut by the Patriots.
Mitchell was only with the Patriots briefly last season and never appeared in a game for them. The team announced it was cutting him on Tuesday.
A 2021 sixth-round draft pick of the 49ers, Mitchell looked tremendous as a rookie, totaling 1,100 yards from scrimmage in 11 games.
But in Week One of his second season, Mitchell suffered a knee injury that knocked him out for most of the year, and he has struggled to stay healthy since. He missed more time in 2023, missed the entire 2024 season with a hamstring injury, and then signed with the Chiefs last year and only played in one game before he was released.
Mitchell may be able to find some team willing to give him a shot on a 90-player training camp roster, but it's fair to question whether he'll ever play in the regular season again, as a player who once looked like he had a bright future deals with the harsh reality of how short NFL careers can be.