5 Dallas Cowboys that should not return in 2021

#2- Ezekiel Elliott, Running Back

File this one under players who should not return in 2021 but will. This has been the worst season Ezekiel Elliott has had in Dallas by far. And the fact he’s the second-highest-paid running back in the NFL this season is utterly ridiculous.

Elliott has rushed for 707 yards and five touchdowns while averaging a career-low 3.9 yards per carry in 11 games. That currently ranks him sixth in the NFL with several other running backs not having yet played as many games as Zeke.

Maybe the more embarrassing statistic is Elliott’s six fumbles, five of which have been lost. His sudden turnover tendency has actually cost the Cowboys’ wins this season.

Elliott is one of the main reasons the Cowboys are tied for dead last in both turnover differential (-13) and total giveaways (23). Dallas has fumbled the ball a whopping 13 times in 11 games.

Elliott is also coming off his worst performance of the season. Against the Washington Football Team on Thanksgiving, Zeke rushed for a mere 32 yards on a season-low 10 carries. He also added one more to his outrageous fumble total.

On the other side of the field, Washington’s rookie running back, Antonio Gibson, racked up 115 yards and three scores on 20 carries. Gibson was a third-round selection out of Memphis earlier this year whose base salary is a mere $610K this season.

Scheduled to make a whopping $30.2 million salary-cap hit over the next two seasons, the Cowboys have a potential out in 2023 to part ways with Elliott according to Spotrac.com. But if this level of performance continues, this front office will be kicking themselves for signing a declining running back to such a massive contract.