Getty Former Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Ezekiel Elliott has yet to find his next step after being released by the Dallas Cowboys in March, but a move could be coming soon. It seems equally likely that Elliott would return to Dallas as he would sign with a new NFL team.
Elliott’s release didn’t come as a surprise because cutting him saved the Cowboys $10.9 million in cap space, but the ensuing saga has been captivating because figuring out where Zeke is headed next has been a major source of speculation.
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo updated the speculation on the June 21 episode of “NFL Total Access,” suggesting that a return to Dallas wasn’t out of the question for Elliott.
“I remember Jerry Jones leaving the door open to a potential return to Dallas for Ezekiel Elliott, and Mike McCarthy was recently asked about Zeke’s release and he called it, quote, ‘Capanomics,’ meaning it had more to do with the financials than what they think of Ezekiel Elliott as a running back,” Garafolo said. “Dallas still believes that he’s got football left. Now, he’s not going to be the lead back there, obviously, if he does return there. And there’s not really a bunch of teams beating down his door to give him a lot of money.”
If teams aren’t pursuing his signature, then Elliott’s likelihood of rejoining the Cowboys only goes up.
Former Cowboys RB Projected to Join Patriots
While Garafolo is saying that teams aren’t looking to pay Zeke, CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin wrote that Elliott would be a good fit heading north to play for the New England Patriots.
“New England has young Rhamondre Stevenson as a potential offensive focal point, but after cutting the injury-riddled James Robinson before he could even make his Patriots debut, they could use proven insurance,” Benjamin wrote in a story published June 19. “Elliott may be past his full-time days, but as a pass blocker and short-term rotational piece, he’d fit right into a typically crowded Bill Belichick backfield.”
Benjamin wrote that he could see the Patriots handing Elliott a one-year, $5 million contract that would give him a fresh start and a complementary role to New England’s lead RB, Rhamondre Stevenson.
NFL Insider Cools Rumors Involving Buccaneers
During his appearance on “NFL Total Access,” Garafolo also addressed the possibility of the former Cowboys running back signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There is some connective tissue between Elliott and Tampa due to the team having RB coach Skip Peete, but Garafolo doesn’t believe that is where Zeke is headed.
“I know a lot of folks are still connecting him to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, because that’s where Skip Peete is, [where the] former running backs coach in Dallas is now but I don’t sense that Tampa is hot on his trail so perhaps a return to Dallas in the long run could be where this is headed.”
Having Zeke return on a cheaper contract would be a slam dunk for Jerry Jones and the Cowboys, as the former Ohio State star is still a solid tool in any NFL offense.