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Detroit Lions sign LeGarrette Blount to help ailing running game

The move reunites Blount with Lions head coach Matt Patricia, who was defensive coordinator during the 2½ seasons Blount spent with the New England Patriots.
Credit: Michael Ainsworth, AP
LeGarrette Blount has won back-to-back Super Bowls, first with the Patriots and then last season with the Eagles.

The Detroit Lions found help for their league-worst rushing game Friday night, agreeing to terms on a one-year deal with LeGarrette Blount.

According to NFL Network, the contract is worth up to $4.5 million.

The move reunites Blount with Lions head coach Matt Patricia, who was defensive coordinator during the 2½ seasons Blount spent with the New England Patriots.

Blount had two of the most successful seasons of his eight-year career with the Patriots in 2015-16.

He ran for 703 yards in just 12 games with the Patriots in 2015, and scored a league-leading 18 rushing touchdowns and had a career-high 1,161 yards rushing during the Patriots' 2016 Super Bowl run.

The Lions, despite questions about their running game, did not show any interest in Blount as a free agent last season, when he signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles and won another Super Bowl ring.

In Detroit, Blount should play at least as a short-yardage back and bring a power element to a rushing attack that averaged just 76.3 yards per game last season.

The Lions return top running backs Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick, plus backups Zach Zenner, Tion Green and Dwayne Washington, but spent the week searching for running back help.

They brought veterans Jonathan Stewart, DeMarco Murray and Frank Gore in on visits around the start of free agency, and were set to host Mike Davis on a trip Friday night.

Blount, who's listed at 6 feet and 250 pounds, ran for 766 yards and two touchdowns for the Eagles last season as a complement to Jay Ajayi.

Patricia spoke highly of Blount during the Super Bowl, when he called stopping the Eagles' running game "critically important." The Eagles beat the Patriots, 41-33, in a game in which Blount had a game-high 14 carries and 90 yards.

"LeGarrette Blount, who’s an outstanding running back, really does a good job of kind of setting the tone," Patricia said at the time.

The Lions, along with being one of the worst rushing teams overall last season, struggled in short-yardage and goal-line situations. They converted just 4 of 9 attempts on third- or fourth-and-1, according to Sharp Football.

Blount was successful on 4 of 7 plays according to Sharp Football, with two touchdowns.

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