Getty Ezekiel Elliott will be playing for a new team in 2023.
The Ezekiel Elliott rumors continue to heat up as the former Dallas Cowboys star was spotted with Cincinnati Bengals playmaker Ja’Marr Chase. Elliott was featured with Chase in a video below along with Exos trainer Brent Callaway.
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The video is notable as the Bengals are one of the team’s on Elliott’s short list which also includes the Jets and Eagles, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. According to ESPN’s Ben Baby, Chase and Elliott are “friends and have the same agent.”
The Bengals Have Shot Down the Ezekiel Elliott Rumors
Thus far, Elliott joining Cincinnati appears to be more of a one sided effort by the running back. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor poured cold water on the idea of the team making a run at Elliott.
“There’s a lot of great players that are available right now,” Taylor told WCPO’s Mike Dyer during a March 23 interview. “We like our team where it’s at right now, but it’s always funny when things get thrown around. Sometimes it’s the first you hear of it, but that’s just the way life works.”
The Buzz Around the NFL Is That the Bengals Are ‘Looming Large’ in the Zeke Sweepstakes, Says Insider
It will be worth monitoring to see if the Bengals change their stance given Joe Mixon’s legal challenges. Elliott was teammates with Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow at Ohio State in 2015 before the signal-caller later transferred to LSU. Prior to the most recent development with Mixon, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the buzz around the league is that Cincinnati is “looming large” as a potential threat to land Elliott.
“So, talking to some teams and some people around the league, they believe the Bengals here could be looming large, because I’m told they’re looking to add a running back either [via] free agency or the draft,” Fowler explained during a March 24 edition of “NFL Live.” “Either to pair with Joe Mixon or if they were to move on from Mixon, they could save nearly $8 million in cap space. But I do expect the Bengals to make a move at some point and Elliott would sort of play into their mold as wanting a power-option running game.”
The Bengals Were Among the Opposing Teams Pursuing Cowboys QB Cooper Rush: Report
The Bengals already attempted to land Cowboys backup quarterback Cooper Rush prior to the signal-caller re-signing with Dallas this offseason. ESPN’s Todd Archer reported that Cincinnati and Las Vegas were among the teams pursuing Rush.
“After going 4-1 last season as the Dallas Cowboys’ starting quarterback while Dak Prescott recovered from thumb surgery, Rush was a hot commodity in free agency,” Archer detailed on April 4. “He was flying to Las Vegas that day to meet with the Raiders, and the Cincinnati Bengals also expressed interest and hoped to set up a visit.
“…Though the flight was never canceled, Rush never got on the plane. He took a night to sleep on the Cowboys’ offer and woke up on St. Patrick’s Day with a two-year deal worth a max of $6 million that included a $1.25 million signing bonus.”