Getty New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh reacting during an NFL game.
There have been a lot of rumors linking the New York Jets to former Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Head coach Robert Saleh was asked about those during the NFL’s annual league meeting.
“We love our running back room, I’ll leave it at that.”
He later added, “again he is part of the free agent list that we all studied but when you look at Breece [Hall], Ty Johnson, Michael Carter, and [Zonovan] ‘Bam’ Knight the guys that we have in that room, we’re really excited about the guys we have.”
Ezekiel Elliott Rumors Weren’t What We Thought
On Thursday, March 23 ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter shared that Elliott had “narrowed down his options about where to play” in 2023.
That list included the Jets, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Cincinnati Bengals and Schefter said the former Cowboys star “would like to make his decision about where to sign by the end of next week.”
Cowboys’ RB Ezekiel Elliott has narrowed down his options about where to play to the Eagles, Jets and Bengals, and he would like to make his decision about where to sign by the end of next week, per sources.
The way the report was framed implied that the Bengals, Eagles, and Jets were all interested in Elliott and it was up to him to decide where to go next.
However, we quickly learned that this list of finalists was more so a “wish list” of where Elliott would like to play.
I’m told as of right now the Eagles have not engaged in conversations with Ezekiel Elliott about joining the team and are happy with the running backs they have right now.
It seems the Eagles, Bengals, Jets are a wish list for Ezekiel Elliott and where he would like to play.
Subsequently, after the news went viral, each of the three teams let it be known that they were satisfied with where they were at the running back spot.
First, it was John Clark of NBC who shared that the Eagles were “happy” with their RB room.
Then Bengals head coach Zac Taylor came out and said “we like our team where it is at” and said it’s “always funny when things get thrown around and sometimes it’s the first you hear of it.”
Finally, we heard from both coach Saleh and Connor Hughes of SNY who said “the Jets’ interest in Zeke Elliott was actually more Zeke being interested in the Jets.”
Sounds like the #Jets interest in Zeke Elliott was actually more Zeke Elliott being interested in the Jets.
Jets Might Roll With Current Group Into 2023
The Jets running back room seems like a sneaky quiet need heading into the offseason with Hall recovering from a torn ACL and the rest of the group coming off of so-so years.
However, don’t tell Saleh or the coaching staff that.
There seems to be confidence that Hall is going to come back sooner than anyone expects. The other thing I’ve heard from people in and around the Jets is “don’t forget” about Michael Carter.
Carter showed a lot of flashes in his first season with the team as a former fourth-round draft choice. However last season things just never seemed to click.
The Jets believe that was a speed bump and he’s going to come back like a man possessed in 2023. Gang Green did re-sign coaching favorite Ty Johnson.
While that signing won’t make the front page of ESPN, the staff believes he can be a reliable piece to the puzzle.
The other big question is Knight who came in as an undrafted free agent last year. When his number was called he proved that the Jets’ scouting department found a gem. Although he was wildly inconsistent at the end of the season.
Was it because of an injured offensive line? Is Knight nothing more than a flash in the pan? There are a lot of questions that need to be answered on that front.