What Does Ezekiel Elliott Have Left?

Ezekiel Elliot was informed on March 15th that he was going to be released from the Cowboys when the free agency period began. Elliott is a two-time NFL rushing champion and was set to make $16.7 million next season. After the move is made, the Cowboys will save nearly $11 million and will now look towards Tony Pollard for even more production.

Does Elliott Have Anything Left?

Ezekiel Elliott truly has been run into the ground. The Cowboys spoon fed Elliott 300 carries annually, and the workload has really taken a toll on Elliott.

The Cowboys are known to get every last drop out of their running backs, we’ve seen this most recently with DeMarco Murray. Murray moved on to the Tennessee Titans but never truly regained his superstar form.

Elliott had a hard time accepting a backup role on the Cowboys the past few seasons which has delayed the stardom of running back Tony Pollard. The Cowboys franchise tagged Pollard for $10 million, but his contract will need to be dealt with soon as well.

At the end of the day Ezekiel Elliott needs to be playing better if he is being compensated so heavily. Elliott’s due compensation of $16.7 million is truthfully an unacceptable price to pay for an NFL organization to swallow for a role-playing running back – especially considering the somewhat abysmal production he’s provided the Cowboys recently. Elliott wears an all-star name on his jersey, but he hasn’t played like one in quite some time.

Elliott has not scored a touchdown outside of the red zone since 2019. In that span, he has 1100 touches. Elliott scored 12 touchdowns last year, all of which except one came from a range of 6 yards or less. Every single year Elliott has been in the league his yards per game have declined starting at 108 yards per game on his rookie year which led the league to last year’s 58 yards per game.

What’s Next for Zeke?

But he might go to a team where they might have a solid running game, but they might need a power back for situational purposes, such as third down and one or two yards or goal line carries. Elliott is still capable of carrying such a workload, but it will come down to whether he is able to accept such a role on a team.