Cowboys Legend Emmitt Smith: Tony Pollard ‘Worry,’ Ezekiel Elliott Mistake?
It has been almost two months since the Dallas Cowboys released Ezekiel Elliott with the veteran running back yet to find to find a new home this offseason.
Where Elliott ultimately ends up is of course yet to be seen, but a potential reunion in Dallas has not been ruled out by some - including Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith. Smith has voiced his support of bringing Elliott back already this offseason, a stance he doubled down on in an interview with CBS Sports.
"I was extremely disappointed that they allowed Zeke to leave," Smith said. "Because of the injury to Tony Pollard, I thought they would keep both of those guys back there and would have been able to give them some time to see how Pollard bounced back."
"I know for a fact as a running back, when you sustain an injury like Tony Pollard has -- the question is can you come back? As a runner, I need my legs. And I need my legs to function the way that they used to function."
While Pollard's broken fibula suffered in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs last season clearly gives Smith pause, the same cannot be said for the Cowboys as they gave him the franchise tag this offseason.
Still, it isn't unreasonable to question how Pollard will look when he returns from injury for the Cowboys.
"Will he come back the same? I don't know, I'm praying that he does," Smith said. "I wanna see the young man have a long, prosperous career. That's No. 1. No. 2 -- I just wanna see him back on the football field because he's such an exciting football player."
"Having a backup or a starter like Zeke in the interim would have been one of things that I would have thought about. The Cowboys are business people and Zeke understands that, but you gotta strike when the iron is hot and get compensated for your value. When you're not, people shift you out."
Even with the release of Elliott the Cowboys have plenty of bodies at the position behind Pollard with sixth-round draft pick Deuce Vaughn, free agent signing Ronald Jones and the duo of Malik Davis and Rico Dowdle rounding out the running back room.
So, while bringing back Elliott is a move that will likely be called for until he signs elsewhere in free agency, the Cowboys remain a team that is unlikely to give him a deal.
You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98
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