3 most disappointing Cowboys players from the 2021 season

2. Ezekiel Elliott (RB)

The Cowboys decided to give running back Ezekiel Elliott a six-year, $90 million contract extension in 2019. However, that probably hasn’t been the best idea, since 2021 was another down year for the former Ohio State Buckeye.

To make matters worse, Elliott’s cap hit in 2022 is $18.2 million, the highest of any running back for next season.

The problem is the Cowboys can’t do anything about the contract. Simply put, there is no reason to trade or release him because of the dead cap. His dead cap for next season is $30 million, so keeping him on the roster is the only move for 2022.

Nonetheless, Elliott’s 2021 season wasn’t the most efficient. It looks great on paper that he rushed for over 1,000 yards — 1,002 yards to be exact — but it was a struggle to get there.

This marked the lowest yards/game (58.9) and the second-lowest yards per touch (4.5) of Elliott’s career.

It’s important to note that this technically wasn’t his worst season to date; that was last season. This season, he had more rush yards (1,002 compared to 979), rush touchdowns (10 compared to six) and yards per carry (4.2 compared to 4.0).

But, then again, he needed an extra two games to do it. He only played 15 games last season, two games shorter, because the season was shorter and he battled injury.

The start of the 2021 season was encouraging for Elliott. Many people probably thought that the two-time rushing leader was back. From Weeks 2-5, he rushed for 419 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 5.6 yards per carry.

However, from Weeks 6-18, Elliott had just 550 rush yards, five touchdowns and averaged 3.62 yards per carry.

Obviously, the end of the season was hard for Elliott. He was battling through a PCL tear and just didn’t look like himself. Nevertheless, this was another disappointing season for someone who was just a top running back only a couple of seasons ago.