Posted by Josh Alper on December 22, 2015, 12:59 PM EST

GREEN BAY, WI - DECEMBER 08: Steven Jackson #39 of the Atlanta Falcons carries the ball against Julius Peppers #56 of the Green Bay Packers in the second quarter at Lambeau Field on December 8, 2014 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)

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Running back Steven Jackson’s return to the NFL became official on Tuesday with the Patriots announcing that they have signed the veteran to their 53-man roster.



Jackson has not played in the NFL at all this season, was unemployed for nearly the entire year after being released by the Falcons in February and hadn’t popped up on the radar in quite a while before working out for the Patriots last week. That makes it difficult to know just what Jackson will be able to offer the Patriots offense, although we do know that he’s got fresh legs given the lack of wear and tear he’s picked up this year.



With the Patriots already locked into a top-two seed in the AFC, Jackson has some time to round into form and get the offense down before the team will kick off its playoff season in the divisional round almost a month from now. The Patriots will use that time to figure out how Jackson, James White, Brandon Bolden and Joey Iosefa fit into their backfield.



The Patriots released defensive tackle Ishmaa’ily Kitchen to make room for Jackson on the roster. Kitchen signed last week, but did not play in the victory over the Titans.
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