RB Ezekiel Elliott Has Options To Explore The Future With The Cowboys

DALLAS. The NFL is an ever-changing landscape. What happens one year doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a foregone conclusion next season. For the Dallas Cowboys and a running back Ezekiel Elliott, these changes mean things could go in a different direction after a seven-year union.

There might be a staring contest and we’ll see who blinks first. In the 2019 off-season, it was the team who conceded and made Elliot the highest paid RB at the time. Elliott had the most cards in this showdown, but now the Cowboys have the winning hand against the veteran runner.

If Elliot wants to stay with the Cowboys, he will have to drastically cut his salary from the money he has to earn in 2023. There is currently $16.7 million on the balance sheet, so there is no chance the team will keep Elliott for another season. price.

However, there are rumors that Elliot could settle for a restructuring through the loss, and the two-time champion appears to be weighing his options.

It wasn’t hard to see when the Cowboys hit the salary cap, but restructuring or releasing Elliott could save the team valuable dollars. If Elliot wants to stay on the team that chose him and has been by his side for seven years, this time it will be at a price the Cowboys will like better. If Dallas releases Elliott and puts him on a post-June cut — a likely scenario — they will save about $11 million on the limit.

There is no debate here, and Elliott has a simple choice: accept a new contract with a much lower salary or try out as a free agent. The latter is what Elliott’s reps will be checking at the mill, and it should give the Cowboys a clearer idea of ​​where Elliott is.

Dallas was in a similar position to defenseman DeMarcus Lawrence last offseason, and the seasoned pass rusher negotiated a new, lower-wage deal. The Cowboys apparently want to keep their third leader in history, but at a cost.

Both the team and the player are in difficult positions, which makes both sides understandable.

Elliott’s performance has dropped over the past two seasons, and the value of running backs in the league continues to decline, especially those with many years on their feet. Those are two big problems for Elliot.

However, the two-time All-Pro RB is still used as a powerful runner who has a flair for the end zone. Elliott rushed for 876 yards and scored 12 goals in 15 games in 2023, proving he can play a role in any offense. His days of running from defenders, creating explosive plays and carrying loads may be over, but Elliot isn’t completely washed up as some would like to believe.

However, the Cowboys are in a quandary. Their top runner of the 2022 season, Tony Pollard, is a free agent and the team no longer has a roster. Rookie Malik Davis has shown choice, but whether he can handle the load of the starting XI remains to be seen.

Pollard is expected to return under the franchise tag if the team can’t work an extension with him, but there’s no guarantee he’ll return.

Thus, the Cowboys and Elliott are in a situation where making a deal can be beneficial to both parties. It looks like the player and team are genuinely interested in Elliott staying in Dallas.

It’s also not out of the question that the Cowboys will tag Pollard, re-sign Elliott on a pay cut, and keep the group of runners together for another season. It didn’t break in 2022, so the only thing to fix is ​​to make money make sense.

No matter how it turns out, the Cowboys won’t be holding Elliott at his current prices, and he’ll be rushing the ball for far less than he planned. A decision will soon be made whether this will happen to the Cowboys or somewhere else in 2023.

Do you think Ezekiel Elliott will return to the Cowboys for the 2023 season? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.