Steven Jackson Officially Signs With Patriots, Hits Practice Field
BOSTON (CBS) -- Steven Jackson is officially a member of the New England Patriots.
The team announced his signing Tuesday afternoon, and Jackson hit the practice field with his new team shortly after. Jackson donned a jersey with No. 39 on it -- until he noticed that none of his teammates were wearing a numbered jersey for Tuesday's session.
Newest #Patriot RB Steven Jackson had his #39 practice jersey on until he realized no one else did - #wbz pic.twitter.com/apO6GZMIZt
— Dan Roche (@RochieWBZ) December 22, 2015
Jackson joins the Patriots with 158 career games under his belt with 11,388 rushing yards and 68 touchdowns. He is the only active running back in the NFL to record at least 10,000 rushing yards and 3,000 receiving yards and one of just 14 players in NFL history to accomplish that feat. He has eight career 1,000-yard rushing seasons, consecutively from 2005-11, joining Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Curtis Martin, Thurman Thomas and LaDainian Tomlinson as the only running backs to record at least eight straight 1,000-yard seasons.
The 32-year-old has not played this season, so he should have some fresh legs for a Patriots backfield that is overcoming some key injuries. Jackson played in 15 games for the Atlanta Falcons last season, rushing for 707 yards and six touchdowns.
To make room for Jackson on the 53-man roster, the Patriots released defensive lineman Ishmaa'ily Kitchen.