The Cowboys are expected to cut Ezekiel Elliott after seven years with the team.
The Cowboys are expected to cut Ezekiel Elliott after seven years with the team. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport said on Wednesday that the Cowboys are expected to release the team’s third-leading rusher as the new league year begins. Elliott will be considered a post-June one-cut if and when removing him is necessary.
This action has been expected for some time, as Elliott’s future with the Cowboys has been in question for the past year despite the team’s public declaration that it wants to find a way to bring him back in 2023.
Elliott, 27, had a career-low in rushing attempts (231), yards (876), and average (3.8) last season, despite scoring 12 touchdowns and doing so in nine consecutive games. It is evident by the halfway point of the season that Tony Pollard had supplanted Ezekiel Elliott as the team’s top running back option.
Elliott has steadily declined after signing a six-year, $90 million agreement in 2019. In the previous season, he injured his knee but still managed to play (missing only two games) while still donning a brace.
The Cowboys may save over $10 million if they cut Elliott after June 1st. Even though Pollard is recovering from a season-ending leg injury, the Cowboys used the franchise tag to secure a one-year tender for him at $10.1 million.
He is a running back who is now second in the NFL in rushing yards (73 behind Derrick Henry) and is about to face free agency for the first time in his career. In the Cowboys’ Divisional Round playoff loss to the 49ers, Elliott’s final play was a peculiar trick: he snapped the ball to Dak Prescott and then was trucked.
Elliott will leave the Cowboys as the franchise’s third all-time best rusher, behind only Emmitt Smith and Tony Dorsett.
