Keith Elias - Professional Career

Professional Career

After going undrafted in the 1994 NFL Draft, Elias signed with the Giants. The 1994 NFL season was the first year that rosters expanded to 53, and Elias made the roster out of training camp. He made the roster ahead of 1994 third round draft choice running back Gary Downs. That season he was originally assigned the number 25, but he eventually took the number 20. On September 11, 1994 against the Arizona Cardinals, Elias sprained his ankle ankle. The injury hampered him for several weeks. After two games of special team duties, he spent the remainder of the season on the inactive list. Following the season, he was left unprotected in the 1995 NFL Expansion Draft to stock the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars. When the Giants lost the second of their unprotected players in the draft they made Elias unavailable.

Entering the 1995 NFL season, Elias was not expected to make the 1995 team. However, in the first preseason game, he scored the Giants' only touchdown, and the next week he ran for 77 yards on just 12 carries; After two preseason games, he led the Giants roster of running backs that included Rodney Hampton, Herschel Walker, Kenyon Rasheed, Downs, Charles Way, and Tyrone Wheatley in rushing with 123 yards. The following week he blocked a punt that the Giants recovered for a touchdown and scored the winning two-point conversion. After three preseason games, Elias had moved from likely to be released to almost a lock to make the team. Elias finished the preseason as the team's leading rusher with 214 yards on 37 carries and made the team. Elias again contributed on special teams, but in the first ten games, he only had ten yards on four carries. Late in the season, Elias moved into the role of the first man off the bench to spell Hampton who was the starter in place of Wheatley who had held the role early in the season. He finished the season with 10 rushes for 44 yards and 9 receptions for 69 yards. Following the season, the Giants opted to release Walker and expected to be unable to resign Hampton. That season, Elias' popularity made him one of the most sought after public speakers on the team and earned him nearly $50,000 ($76,261).

Elias entered the 1996 NFL season as the likely third down back for the 1996 team. In 1995 no one had emerged to replace Dave Meggett in that role. Elias again had strong preseason performances. In one early August exhibition game he scored two touchdowns. By August 22, he led the Giants in preseason carries. He entered the season as the first option third down back, ahead of Wheatley. In the September 30 contest against the Minnesota Vikings, John Randle picked fights with some of the Giants, including Elias. Elias suffered turf toe in that game and it affected him in the next as well. He also had an October ankle injury, which consisted of both a sprain and a bone chip. That injury kept him out of the lineup, making Wheatley the third down back by default. Elias did not get his third down role back until mid-November. When he finally returned to this role, he was able to perform as needed. However, he was soon suffering from a torn posterior cruciate ligament and a damaged meniscus in need of surgery and was lost for the season. He had immediate November surgery, which revealed that the ligament was 90% torn, but would heal on its own. It kept him out of the lineup for the rest of the season, however. He finished the season on injured reserve. During the offseason, he got involved as a narrator for the Westchester Philharmonic. As the Giants prepared for the 1997 NFL Draft they attempted to resign Elias.

In 1997, he earned the Unsung hero award from the New York Giants. Elias did not play for the Giants during the 1997 NFL season, and he did not sign with the Indianapolis Colts until the 1998 NFL season. He had an offer from the 1997 Carolina Panthers, but he tested the market too long and lost it. He spent 1997 coaching his high school alma mater's football team where his brother, Greg, was playing. He was the running backs and special teams coach. After three seasons with the Giants he served as special teams captain with the Indianapolis Colts. He also served as the backup to Marshall Faulk and Edgerrin James. The Colts resigned him to a second one-year contract for the 1999 NFL season. He scored the game-winning touchdown in the final preseason game on September 2. Following the season he was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest at a barroom brawl in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. His 20-year-old brothers Brian and Gregory as well as New York Jets wide receiver Wayne Chrebet were also arrested. Elias jumped on a police officer who was attempting to handcuff one of his brothers. According to The New York Times Brian Elias was engaged to Jennifer Chrebet, Wayne's sister, but the New York Daily News reported that they were married. When the case was heard in court, the three Elias brothers and Chrebet all pled guilty to a public nuisance violation and paid fines of $230 apiece. Chrebet pled guilty in absentia via a legal representative. After playing two years for the Colts on special teams, while rushing for 52 yards on 21 carries, Elias' veteran salary would not fit under the salary cap for the 2000 team. Thus, Elias did not play in the NFL during the 2000 NFL season.

In November 2000, Elias attended the minicamp of the New York/New Jersey Hitmen of the XFL who were scheduled to begin play the following February. He hoped to survive roster cuts as the team went from 70 men to a 38-man roster. Elias made the team as a backup running back. In the early season games, he saw plenty of action as a ball carrier, even though he was struggling with a knee injury. However, in March, he was placed on injured reserve. Elias hasn't participated in a season since and during the season Elias prepared for life after football by writing screenplays.