Cowboys Offseason 'Winner' After Ezekiel Elliott Cut?
FRISCO - The first official day of the NFL's new league year was jam-packed with movement. The Dallas Cowboys were among the teams to make impactful changes, releasing two-time rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott.
A seven-year era comes to an end as owner Jerry Jones penned an emotional goodbye and Dallas loses a major piece of their locker room culture - not to mention quarterback Dak Prescott's best friend on the team.
The Cowboys' self-scouting is a "winner" of Wednesday's moves, according to NFL.com:
Ezekiel Elliott's contract was another classic example of the Cowboys' struggles in this facet of team-building. In 2019, they gave $50 million in guarantees to a player whose career arc as a heavily used running back should not have surprised anyone. Throughout the Jerry Jones era, the Cowboys have constantly made moves that suggest they've believed their own hype, paying their own players too much money at the wrong time. But Elliott needed to go, and I look at his release Wednesday as a step in the right direction, even if Elliott didn't give them much choice, fresh off the worst season of his career at age 27. Previous Dallas front offices might have kept him around another season, perhaps for sentimental reasons.
Elliott, 27, still has yards to gain in the NFL. Since 2016 he has 30 100-yard games. Only Tennessee's Derek Henry has more (34). And he ends his Cowboys career with a rushing touchdown in nine consecutive games.
Elliott is free to sign with another team... And it looks like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be his new home. By any statistical metric, Elliott is the third-best running back in the history of the Cowboys. He has more rushing titles than Tony Dorsett (2-0) and a better career yards-per-carry average than Emmitt Smith (4.4-4.2).
As awkward as it was to watch Dorsett in a Broncos uniform and Smith carrying the ball against the Cowboys, this season it will be similarly surreal to see Zeke playing for the Buccaneers (who are without Leonard Fournette and with former Cowboys' running backs coach Skip Peete) ... or the Chargers (with Austin Ekeler seeking a trade and former Cowboys' offensive coordinator Kellen Moore calling plays).
The move by the Cowboys will officially free up $10.9 million in cap space and add $5.8 million in dead money (available after June 1). Dallas has the sixth-best odds to win the Super Bowl next season.
While the move could be considered a "win," certainly Dallas is losing an important player and an important person in Cowboys lore.
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