The Dallas Cowboys made a move that felt inevitable when they released running back Ezekiel Elliott earlier this offseason. However, it is fair to question if that was a move they really wanted to make.
Dallas needed the cap space, so releasing him was the right move to make. He didn’t have any guaranteed money remaining on his contract and when talks about a restructure fell through, releasing him was the move.
Soon after being released, it was reported that he narrowed down the wish list of teams he wanted to play for. The Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets were the teams according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
The feeling evidently wasn’t mutual. Philadelphia made a trade with the Detroit Lions for D’Andre Swift during the 2023 NFL Draft. New York selected Pittsburgh running back Israel Abanikanda in the fifth round of this year’s draft. Cincinnati selected Illinois running back Chase Brown in the fifth round and still have Joe Mixon on the roster.
None of those teams showed an interest in Elliott and most likely won’t have interest now. So, where could the No. 4 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft end up? How about back in Dallas with the Cowboys?
Elliott is someone that players on the team would love to see come back. One of those players is quarterback Dak Prescott, whose opinion should hold some weight within the organization.
“I know myself, and I can tell you there’s a lot of people not only on the team but the organization that would love that,” Prescott said during an appearance on The Adam Schefter Podcast (h/t Adam Schultz of Cowboys Country).
Elliott may no longer have the burst that once made him one of the most dangerous running backs in the NFL. But he showed last year that he can still function as a solid power back and was a good complement to Tony Pollard, who had the franchise tag placed on him and will be back in Dallas for at least one more season.
The only addition that the Cowboys made to their backfield was selecting Deuce Vaughn in the sixth round. Vaughn projects as a solid change of pace back as being listed at 5’5” and 179 pounds doesn’t profile as someone capable of handling too big of a role in the NFL.
With Pollard’s return to the field up in the air after a bad injury during the postseason, the Cowboys need to bring in a veteran presence. Why not Elliott, who knows the system and is someone the team is already familiar with having spent the seven seasons of his career with the franchise?
