Free agent running back Ezekiel Elliott was once one of the faces of the Dallas Cowboys, and the fan favorite could soon become one again. Josina Anderson, senior NFL insider at CBS Sports HQ, reports that the Cowboys will meet with Elliott’s representation at the Star in Frisco on Wednesday, a day before the 2024 NFL Draft begins.
Dallas lost eight of its own players in free agency, tied for the third-most in a single offseason in Cowboys history, and that number includes the team’s 2023 starting running back Tony Pollard, who signed a three-year, $21.8 million contract with the Tennessee Titans. Rico Dowdle, a 2020 undrafted free agent, and 2023 sixth-round pick Deuce Vaughn are the two best backs on the Cowboys’ current depth chart.
Elliott, who turns 29 on July 22, had career lows across the board in rushing yards (642), rushing touchdowns (three), carries (184) and yards per carry (3.5). for the 4-13 New England Patriots. The fourth overall pick in the 2016 draft racked up three Pro Bowl seasons in his first four years with the Cowboys, and he led the NFL in rushing yards twice in 2016 and 2018. They have him released at the start of a six-year period. $90 million extension they signed him to in 2019, two years before his rookie contract expired.
His rushing yards per game figure has subsequently declined each season he has been in the NFL after bursting onto the scene in 2016 by leading the league in rushing yards (1,631), rushing yards per game (108 .7) and in races (322). He earned his only First Team All-Pro selection that season. Elliott’s 8,262 rushing yards and 68 rushing touchdowns are the third-most records in each category in Cowboys history behind only two Pro Football Hall of Famers, Tony Dorsett and Emmitt Smith.
Elliott totaled 16 rushing yards on six carries as well as 6 receiving yards on two catches in his return to AT&T Stadium in Week 4, a game Dallas won over New England 38-3.
“He will always be loved here,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said. said upstream “The love he has, even today, in this locker room is immense. During our time together, he was clearly one of the most popular players. He is a great teammate. He ‘is always. His name usually comes up once a week.
Quarterback Dak Prescott called Elliott “like my little brother, a best friend obviously” when asked about his former running back before facing the Patriots.
“He’s like my little brother, a best friend obviously,” Prescott said in September. “We entered this journey together and grew on and off the field. [his time with Elliott] was great. Obviously, it was a shame for him to go play for another team, but that’s part of this business. We learn that quite quickly and seeing it when we had to separate, that’s part of it. Happy for him, I always shoot for him. He is fine. I’m excited for him.”
Perhaps signing Elliott will relieve Jerry and Stephen Jones of the pressure needed to select a running back in the first part of the 2024 draft.