Getty Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy might get one more year out of running back Ezekiel Elliott.
The Dallas Cowboys are no strangers to unceremonious departures, and now they’re being predicted to make another one.
In March, the team ditched wide receiver Amari Cooper for what was basically a sixth-round pick and released offensive tackle La’el Collins to help on the salary cap. Both players were marquee names in Dallas, spending a combined 10 seasons with the Cowboys. Now, both are gone.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott could be one of the next major departures from the Cowboys roster, according to Bobby Belt, a reporter on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. Elliott is the highest-paid running back in the NFL, but some fans and media members believe his performances have not matched the price of his contract. Belt said he could be gone after playing one more season in Dallas.
“Zeke could rush for 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns this year and I think he’s still probably done here,” Belt said to NBC Sports Washington in a July 21 story. “They need to move on. That contract has been such an albatross for them — one of the worst deals in football. And as much as they love his toughness and things like that, it’s about time to rip off the Band-Aid. He’s not the same player anymore.”
Elliott’s numbers are almost always impressive, with his 2021 season marking the fourth time in six years that he eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards. But, Belt wrote, the Cowboys star’s contract means being good isn’t enough.
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Elliott Entering Year 7 with Cowboys
When Dallas and owner Jerry Jones drafted Elliott as the fourth overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft, it came as a surprise. Some said the Cowboys reached for the former Ohio State star, but then Elliott made good by leading the NFL in rushing as a rookie with 1,631 yards.
Zeke nearly crossed the 1,000-yard mark in 2017 despite playing only 10 games, and he failed to hit that threshold only one other time, in 2020. Furthermore, Elliott totaled 10 touchdowns last year, marking the third time in his career he reached the end zone 10 or more times in a season.
The issue with the 27-year-old’s production isn’t the totals, but the averages. Since averaging 5.1 yards per carry in 2016, Elliott has steadily declined. In 2020, he averaged 4.0 yards per carry and in 2021, he averaged 4.2 yards per carry.
Breaking Down Dallas RB’s Monstrous Contract
The Cowboys didn’t just pay Elliott, Belt said, they bound themselves to him. His cap hit will be $18.2 million this season, and it won’t get better for Jones and Dallas over the remain four years of the deal.
Due to restructuring and the back-loaded nature of the deal, the cheapest year remaining on Elliott’s deal will be 2024, he will be due $14.32 million. Every other year of the contract pays Elliott at least $16 million.
Part of why Belt’s prediction makes sense is the Cowboys can cut Elliott in 2023 and be stuck with only $11.86 million in dead cap. It would be a massive hit, it essentially would be Dallas’ best chance to get unhooked from the 6-year, $90 million contract.
The contract likely will be too big for any team to take on in a trade, and paying Zeke that amount as he reaches his late 20s doesn’t make much sense either. So a release after the 2022 season seems like a real possibility.