Category: Ezekiel Elliott

Jerry Jones: ‘Ship hasn’t sailed’ on Cowboys re-signing Ezekiel Elliott

From @ToddBrock24f7: Drafting RB Deuce Vaughn in the sixth round doesn’t rule out the possibility of bringing back the two-time rushing champ, Jones said.

Heading into Thursday night’s first round, it was thought the Cowboys might spend a first-round draft pick on a running back. Instead, the Falcons landed Bijan Robinson with the eighth overall selection, and the Lions caused a stir by taking Jahmyr Gibbs at No. 12. Then Day 2 came and went. Two more rounds, and no running back for Dallas.

The Cowboys waited until Saturday- and the 212th selection- to finally address their backfield. Granted, Kansas State’s Deuce Vaughn is an electrifying talent. And yes, the story of his dad (a Cowboys scout) being the one to make the phone call to his son will go down as an all-time draft moment to remember. But the addition of a 5-foot-5 sixth-round pick doesn’t exactly put the obvious final touches on the Cowboys’ running attack after the release of two-time rushing champ Ezekiel Elliott.

Left to wonder why the organization didn’t add anything more than a Day-3 lottery ticket to the RB room, Cowboys fans were offered a tantalizing nugget by the team owner late Saturday. Jerry Jones suggested that maybe the biggest addition to the ground game wouldn’t come via the draft, but through a post-draft re-signing of the club’s third-all-time leading rusher.

“The ship hasn’t sailed there,” Jones said, regarding Elliott. “I haven’t ruled out Zeke.”

Elliott was released on March 15 and has yet to land with a new club. Jones has frequently stated his affinity for Elliott, and this was not the first time he’s publicly floated the idea of a reunion. Quarterback Dak Prescott similarly lamented the loss of his best friend and has suggested there would be widespread support within the building to bring Elliott back on a new contract.

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Elliott’s No. 21 jersey has already been re-issued to new cornerback Stephon Gilmore, but giving Elliott new digits would be a minor detail in the grand scheme of things. Working out more cost-effective terms and determining a new role for Elliott within the offense would be of far greater importance.

But after watching several teams draft plug-and-play starting ballcarriers- and seeing the defending NFC champion Eagles upgrade their roster even further by pulling off a mid-draft trade for D’Andre Swift- Cowboys fans can’t be blamed for grabbing at any scrap of hope they can find regarding the team’s plans for the position in 2023.

Even if that hope comes in the form of the guy they just sent packing.

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Another Cowboys QB loves idea of re-signing Ezekiel Elliott: ‘He’s the glue’

From @ToddBrock24f7: Troy Aikman joined those who believe much of what Elliott brings can’t be measured by stats and can’t be replaced by drafting a new player.

With every day that Ezekiel Elliott remains a free agent, the rumblings of a reunion with the Cowboys seem to grow louder and louder.

Especially if you ask a Cowboys quarterback.

While Dak Prescott admitted to feeling a mix of emotions upon starting voluntary workouts at the facility last week with Elliott no longer owning a locker in the building, it’s three-time Super Bowl winner Troy Aikman who has provided the latest fuel for the rumor mill regarding the franchise’s third-leading rusher possibly returning to the fold.

“I don’t want to speak for the Cowboys or the Joneses, but it feels like that might be the case,” Aikman said Friday while hosting a charity event in Dallas. “I know there’s a great amount of respect for Zeke. I think the question becomes, ‘Is Zeke capable of really having a reduced role?’ My guess is, knowing him the way that I do, that he would handle that fine. I thought he handled everything this past year really well.”

Elliott was released by the club in March following a down year that saw him post career-low numbers in several categories and finish last among starting rushers in yards per carry, tackles avoided, and percentage of runs that went for 10-plus yards.

But Aikman echoed earlier statements- by Jerry and Stephen Jones as well as Prescott and head coach Mike McCarthy- who maintain that Elliott brings much more to the team than what shows up in the box score.

“I’ve talked to a number of people that have been in that locker room- coaches, players- and he’s the glue,” the Hall of Famer continued. “Losing those type of players- I’ve said it before- you don’t replace those guys. It’s really, really hard. We had some when I was playing: didn’t contribute much on the field during the games- he obviously would contribute more- but those that didn’t, they had a really big role in allowing us to do what we were able to do, and I think Zeke’s one of those people.”

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But bringing Elliott back to Dallas on a new contract would require some degree of patience from both parties.

While it’s been reported that Elliott has yet to hear from another NFL team about a job, this weekend’s draft could change things. There will be a club who doesn’t come away from Kansas City with the running back they’re hoping for. There will be a club who wants to beef up their running attack prior to OTAs starting. There is always the chance that some club will see their backfield decimated by injury early in camp.

Declining skills or not, Elliott will be a commodity for whom there is a market that only grows with each day the regular season gets nearer.

Dallas is widely thought to be in the hunt for more rushing talent via the draft. And while some suspect the Cowboys will make a play for a top-tier back like Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs, they could just as easily hang back and wait for someone like Deuce Vaughn or Mo Ibrahim.

Or they could decide to use the pick on a different position altogether and instead welcome back the two-time rushing champ to a stable that already includes Tony Pollard, Ronald Jones, and Malik Davis.

What Elliott’s exact on-the-field role would be in such a timeshare is anyone’s guess. But, as Aikman knows from experience, what the team gains off the field could prove to be just as vital.

“I think it’d be a great addition if they were able to work something out to bring him back.”

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Ezekiel Elliott works out with Dak, Cowboys receivers on Prescott’s backyard field

Settle down. The friends were just staying in football shape, even though some are still clinging to the idea of the team re-signing Zeke. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Cowboys players can kick off their voluntary offseason work at team headquarters as early as next Monday, but plenty of them have already gotten a jump start in quarterback Dak Prescott’s backyard.

The scaled-down turf field he added in 2020 has become affectionately known as “The Dakyard.” Professionally installed by the same company that did AT&T Stadium and The Star in Frisco, it includes regulation hash marks and a 10-yard end zone.

It’s become a popular spot for Prescott and his teammates to practice the precise throws and routes they’ll look to execute on Sundays, and landing an invite for a workout there has come to carry some amount of weight for those who lend credence to such things.

So it took many by surprise when recent photos taken in The Dakyard showed Prescott getting in reps with receivers CeeDee Lamb, Simi Fehoko, Jalen Tolbert, KaVontae Turpin, and Dennis Houston, tight ends Jake Ferguson and Sean McKeon… as well as running back Ezekiel Elliott.

Elliott, of course, was released by the Cowboys in mid-March and has yet to land with another club, so his presence raised a few eyebrows. Some even interpreted the workout as a sign that the two-time rushing champ is on his way back to Dallas on a new, less costly contract.

Yes, head coach Mike McCarthy and owner Jerry Jones both publicly left the door open for a possible 2023 reunion with Elliott, but the reality is that it’s highly unlikely.

The team didn’t even offer their former first-round draft pick a reduced-money deal, they said, out of “respect” for what he has meant to the franchise and on the assumption that he’d prefer to let a better offer come to him from elsewhere. The 27-year-old has named a handful of teams he says he’d like to play for, but he’ll probably be waiting until after the draft (and perhaps well into training camp), once a few clubs inevitably realize they’re not as set at the position as they had hoped.

The simple answer to why Elliott was working out in Prescott’s backyard with current Cowboys players is friendship. The quarterback and running back came up together as rookies in that breakout year of 2016; their close relationship has been well documented over the years since. Prescott went so far as to call Elliott “a brother” and admit recently that he was “hurt” by the front office’s decision to release the seven-year veteran.

But the two hanging out together and even getting in a group offseason workout is perfectly natural and innocuous, with no hidden meaning or top-secret subtext.

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Eagles among 3 teams Ezekiel Elliott is considering for 2023

The two-time rushing champ is also considering the Bengals and Jets; he says he hopes to have a decision by the end of next week. | From @ToddBrock24f7

A significant portion of Cowboys Nation had already moved on from running back Ezekiel Elliott and were prepared to say goodbye when the club released him on March 15.

But now those same fans may have to prepare themselves to see Elliott twice a year wearing enemy colors.

The 27-year-old free agent has reportedly “narrowed down his options” about where he’ll play in 2023, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter. The Eagles, Bengals, and Jets are apparently the finalists to land the two-time rushing champ.

And a decision may be coming before the month is out, says Schefter’s sources.

The defending NFC champ Eagles find themselves without last year’s leading rusher after 1,200-yard-man Miles Sanders signed a new deal with Carolina. Quarterback Jalen Hurts was the team’s second-leading rusher; Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell had just double-digit rushing totals on the season. Philadelphia did sign former Seahawk Rashaad Penny in free agency.

In Cincinnati, 26-year-old Joe Mixon tallied 814 ground yards last season. Backup Samaje Perine is now with Denver, leaving Trayveon Williams as the only other Bengals running back to carry the ball in 2022.

The Jets’ top rusher last season, rookie Breece Hall, amassed just 463 yards before a knee injury ended his year early. A platoon of Michael Carter, Zonovan Knight, Ty Johnson, and James Robinson combined for another 944.

Wherever Elliott lands, he seems set on returning to the jersey number he wore at Ohio State, according to a tweet he posted on Thursday.

The Cowboys are slated to face the Eagles twice- as usual- in 2023 and will also play the Jets.

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Dak Prescott on life after Elliott: ‘I can’t imagine him not in the locker room’

Prescott spoke to reporters about the coming changes in 2023, among which will be professional life without his BFF. | From @ReidDHanson

Rosters are fluid in the NFL; the annual churn of personnel mean every season is a brand new endeavor. Whether it’s a team pushing a player out of the door or a player walking out on their own volition, it’s often a difficult change for everyone involved.

As the last remaining player from the Cowboys 2016 draft class, it’s a reality Dak Prescott knows all-too-well.

Since the day they were drafted seven years ago, Ezekiel Elliott and Prescott had been seemingly tied at the hip. Elliott, the blue-chip prospect selected with the fourth overall pick and Prescott, the QB consolation prize selected with a compensatory pick in the fourth round, formed an instant bond. It’s a bond that carried them through their spectacularly improbable rookie seasons and it’s a bond that continues to this day.

“A brother,” Prescott said of Elliott. “Being able to start this NFL career and share so many memories and grow up as men with the organization, I really can’t imagine taking the field without him. I don’t know if it’s completely hit me yet.”

Elliott’s boisterous personality made him a locker room favorite in Dallas. The energy and excitement he provided was infectious. It could cut tension without being a distraction.

“Had fun, did that, Prescott said. “But when it was time to lock in and time to focus and give everything that you had and show your teammates and show the younger guys what really mattered and how to get things done, Zeke was the guy to follow.”

Speaking to reporters to promote the Children’s Cancer Fund Gala (which takes place April 21), Prescott showed he had a clear understanding of how things work in the NFL. The roster from that 2016 season when Prescott won Offensive Rookie of the Year has very little resemblance to the roster the Cowboys have today.

Yet, understanding the realities of the NFL is different from moving through the emotions of losing an extremely close teammate.

“I really didn’t see this day coming,” Prescott said. “I can’t imagine him not in the locker room.”

With the moment still fresh, Prescott showed the human side of the game. Yet the consummate professional also made it clear he understood “It’s part of the business.”

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Ezekiel Elliott’s Cowboys career photo gallery

A collection of some of the best Ezekiel Elliott photos from his seven-year career with the Cowboys. | From @KDDrummondNFL

After seven seasons, Ezekiel Elliott’s career as a Dallas Cowboys has come to an end. While there’s always a chance at a reunion down the line, his career appears poised to start again in another city. While he called Dallas home, though, numerous memories were made. Elliott is a three-time Pro Bowler, two-time All-Pro including First-Team in 2016. That year he finished second in rookie of the year voting and third in MVP votes.

Elliott ran for 8,262 yards with the Cowboys, third-most in club history behind Emmitt Smith and Tony Dorsett. Despite earning a reputation as a short-yardage savant over his last couple of seasons, Elliott sits with the highest per-carry average of all Cowboys’ backs with at least 1,000 carries, 4.39. His 68 rushing touchdowns (80 career total scores) also ranks third in franchise history.

‘Consummate professional’: Jerry Jones releases official statement on Ezekiel Elliott’s release

The Cowboys owner said the decision to release Elliott was “extremely difficult,” but called it a decision that’s best for both parties. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Not every departing Cowboys player gets an official statement from the club to mark the occasion, but not every player means what Ezekiel Elliott has meant to the franchise.

The Cowboys officially released the beloved star running back on Wednesday after seven seasons, two league rushing titles, and a truckload of highlight-reel memories for Cowboys fans.

Team owner Jerry Jones had this to say about the decision to move forward without the playmaker that Stephen Jones famously called “the straw that stirs our drink” in Dallas:

“Zeke’s impact and influence is seared into the Cowboys franchise in a very special and indelible way. He has been a consummate professional and leader that set a tone in our locker room, on the practice field and in the huddle. Zeke defined what a great teammate should be, and anyone that has ever played a team sport would be lucky to have a teammate like Zeke and be much better for it. His commitment and passion for winning is selfless, and the accountability he brings everyday earned the respect of our coaches, his teammates and our entire organization. He wore the Cowboys Star with pride and purpose every single time he put it on, and we’re a better franchise because of the example he set for veterans and rookies alike. That carried over into our community as well, with Zeke’s generosity and spirit about giving and caring for others.

“We have mutually agreed with Zeke that the best decision for everyone is that he will be able to experience free agency, and we can increase our flexibility and options as well. This is one of the toughest parts of operating a team. Moments like this come, and extremely difficult decisions and choices are made. For the franchise. For me personally. For players too. We will always have a special place and love for Zeke and what he means to our Cowboys family, both as a person and a player. That will never change.”

A former fourth-overall draft pick, Elliott ends his Dallas tenure with 8,262 rushing yards, behind only Tony Dorsett and Emmitt Smith in Cowboys history.

But apart from his stats, his punishing running style, and his considerable toughness in playing through injuries, much of Elliott’s legacy with the team will be his leadership in the locker room, the way he handled himself with the media, and his commitment to community work off the field.

Elliott is now free to sign with another club, and several others have already been named as possible destinations for the 27-year-old free agent.

It’s a sad day for many in Cowboys Nation as a true fan favorite appears to be riding off for new pastures.

But it’s worth pointing out that Elliott and the Cowboys are also free to restructure an entirely new (and cap-friendlier) deal that would bring him back as a short-yardage/red-zone threat and backup to Tony Pollard.

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Now released, Ezekiel Elliott will go down as one of Cowboys’ all-time greats

Elliott’s time with the Cowboys has come to an end and the seven-year vet will go down as one of the best ever to don the star. | From @ReidDHanson

After 11 record-breaking seasons in Dallas, the Cowboys traded Tony Dorsett. After 13 record-breaking seasons in Dallas, the Cowboys cut Emmitt Smith. After seven mostly-spectacular seasons in Dallas, the Cowboys are parting ways with Ezekiel Elliott.

The move, designated a post-June 1 release, will provide the Cowboys with $10.9 million of cap space later in the summer, but none now, while allowing Elliott to shop his services on the open market while teams still have needs and cap space.

Things rarely end glamorously in the NFL. Yet unlike in a great novel or award winning movie, it’s not about the ending but rather the brilliant moments within the story that are ultimately remembered. For Elliott, he’ll be remembered as one of the greatest running backs to ever wear the star.

Elliott entered the NFL as a first round pick out of Ohio State. The former Buckeye hit the ground running for the Cowboys, amassing 1,631 yards in his first season. With Tony Romo injured and a rookie fourth rounder named Dak Prescott filling in under center, the engine of the Cowboys’ offense undoubtedly ran through Elliott in 2016. Dallas posted a 13-3 record, eventually losing to the Packers in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Elliott’s rookie season would go down as his most successful seasons as a pro . Over the course of his career Elliott logged 8,262 yards rushing, third most in franchise history. He was a team leader and lighthearted warrior on the field.

While the heavy workload and constant beatings took their toll, Elliott was a fixture in the lineup. With the exception of six-game suspension in 2017, Elliott would play in 15 or more games every season in Dallas, even playing through a partially torn PCL in 2021 and another knee injury in 2022.

Elliott will always be known for his famous “feed me” gesture. He’ll be known for the 68 rushing touchdown accumulated in a Cowboys uniform. He’ll be remembered for using the Salvation Army’s red kettle during a celebration.

Elliott’s finable offense was turned into PR gold, bringing attention to the red kettle and allowing him to live on in charitable immortality.

Elliott was a fantastic teammate to seemingly everyone and a close friend to Prescott. He remained supportive of his teammate when he eventually took the backseat to Tony Pollard, Dallas’ newest top rusher.

In the end Elliott gave the Cowboys countless good moments that will be remembered far longer than the unceremonious ending. Like the greats that came before him, his career will continue, just not in Dallas.

Another all-time great has come and gone for the Cowboys. He had a career in Dallas worth celebrating and it doesn’t matter how it ended, when the story itself was so great.

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Cowboys expected to release Elliott today as free agency officially begins

The two-time rushing champ has been a team leader for 7 seasons, but his contract and declining stats may have finally made him expendable. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The end may have come for No. 21.

The Cowboys are believed to be on the verge of cutting two-time rushing champ Ezekiel Elliott, according to a report from Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Hill cites “a source close to the situation” and says the move could come as early as Wednesday afternoon, the first official day of the new league calendar.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport called the move “likely” after hearing from his own source; Jane Slater had a source tell her “Looking like it” when asked about the veteran’s imminent release.

Elliott and his monster $90 million contract have been a source of friction within the Cowboys fanbase ever since he signed it in 2019. At the time, he had been the league’s rushing leader twice in his first three seasons and might have made it a clean sweep if not for the controversial 2017 suspension that kept him off the field for six games.

The Ohio State product earned his third Pro Bowl nod and topped 1,300 rushing yards after inking the deal, but his production began a steady decline with the 2020 campaign. He finished 2022 with career lows in carries, rushing yards, average yards per carry, receptions, receiving yards, and average yards per catch. For the first time, he failed to log a 100-yard-rushing game all season.

But the former fourth overall draft pick had unquestionably become one of the locker room’s most treasured leaders, with teammates, coaches, and ownership all attesting to his selfless attitude and importance to the fabric of the team. It’s been believed that the front office would try desperately to keep Elliott on the roster, even though it was clear that the financial details of his contract would have to be reworked.

The 27-year-old is set to count $16.4 million against the upcoming season’s salary cap with a non-guaranteed $10.4 million base salary.

Elliott himself expressed a willingness to have his deal restructured in order to remain in Dallas, but Wednesday’s reports indicate that the two sides were apparently finally unable to find a palatable middle ground for the third-leading rusher in Cowboys history.

Releasing Elliott will save the team $4.8 million; designating him a post-June 1 cut would save the club $10.9 million.

But until the move is officially made, there is always the chance that Jerry and Stephen Jones work a miracle. Longtime Cowboys writer David Helman tweeted Wednesday, “I’m personally not 100% sold that this story’s over. the Cowboys are very good at subverting expectations at the last minute, especially when beloved franchise icons are involved.”

In 103 regular-season game appearances, Elliott tallied 8,262 rushing yards and 68 rushing touchdowns on 1,881 attempts.

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Here’s how Cowboys can responsibly create over $40 million in cap space

Recommendations on how Dallas can respect their vets while creating cap room, along with other ways to shave space before the new year. Trade away candidates included. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys made a couple of moves on Friday which didn’t impact the state of the current roster but instead paved the way for some potential returns or additions. They’ll need to make more, however, if they are to be involved in free agency starting on Monday. Mind you, this isn’t even discussing being real players in the race for talent; that feels like chasing a unicorn.

This is in regards to doing much of anything, including their annual sign-their-own-bargain-shop-other-teams strategy. Converting base salary to bonus, Dallas shaved a little over $30 million to their cap space with the adjustments to Dak Prescott and Zack Martin’s deals. But because they were already over the cap, Tony Pollard’s pending franchise tag put them even more in the red. Dallas was $16 million over, according to Over the Cap; the moves gave them just $14.5 million in usable space and that’s not enough.

Dallas will want to carry at least $5 million worth of space into the regular season, and the draft class will take away another $3 million. That’s $8 million the club needs to earmark, meaning that they’ll only have $6.5 million of effective cap space to use.

Dallas currently has 57 players under contract, so they are already above the Top 51 threshold. 51 players of the 90-man offseason roster count against the salary cap, which is $224.8 million in 2023 (plus the Cowboys’ 2022 rollover of another $5.5 million). Each player they sign for more than the minimum will knock someone out of the Top 51, so their impact on the cap will be slightly less.

For instance, if Dallas signs a player to a one-year, $6.75 million deal it would use up $6 million of cap space because they’d be pushing a player making $750,000 out of the Top 51.

That’s not giving Dallas much of an opportunity to do anything, so here are five ways they could create more cap space. They don’t have to make these moves now, but could pull the trigger next week, next month or even after the draft.