The Dallas Cowboys reached a crossroads this offseason with Ezekiel Elliott’s future. Some fans speculated the front office, specifically owner Jerry Jones, didn’t have what it takes (the ruthlessness, if you will) to cut Elliott considering their friendship and everything the player has given to the team.
When push came to shove, though, Jones proved all of us wrong.
The Cowboys officially released Elliott on Wednesday with a post-June 1 designation, thereby entrusting Tony Pollard as the lead back, and parting ways with one of the team’s best players of the last decade on either side of the ball. The move will save Dallas $10.9 million against the cap once it becomes official in June.
This is an emotional time for Cowboys fans for obvious reasons, but it doesn’t take a football savant to realize this was the right call.
3 reasons Cowboys were right to release Ezekiel Elliott
3. 2023 RB class is loaded
Bijan Robinson has been the running back most prominently linked with the Cowboys. Following the Combine, it seems increasingly unlikely Robinson falls that far, as ESPN Todd McShay’s new mock has the Texas star going No. 10 overall to the Eagles, while The Athletic has him going No. 14 overall to the Eagles.
Regardless, the running back class goes much deeper than Robinson.
Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs is a potential second-round target — some analysts would argue he’s first-round material — while UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet, Tulane’s Tyjae Spears, Ole Miss’ Zach Evans, TCU’s Kendre Miller, and Texas A&M’s Devon Achane offer high upside in the middle rounds depending how the board unfolds.
Whomever your flavor of the week is, it’s beyond time for the Cowboys to reset the money at the position. What better time than drafting a prospect in one of the strongest running back classes to enter the league in several years?
Not only would drafting a RB reset the money after Tony Pollard’s franchise tag expires at season’s end, but any of the aforementioned players could step in as rookies and have a similar impact, if not greater impact, than Zeke had in 2022.
2. Ezekiel Elliott doesn’t have “it” anymore
It was going to happen at some point. Some speculated 2024 would mark the beginning of Elliott’s downfall. Instead, it happened two years ahead of time, which really isn’t all that surprising given the workload he was given early in his career.
Elliott led the NFL in carries twice in his first three years, and likely would’ve pulled off a three-peat if he didn’t miss six games in 2017 via suspension. Even that year he totaled 242 carries, averaging out to 24.2 per game.
Since 2016, Zeke has the most carries in the league at 1,881. Derrick Henry is second at 1,750, though he didn’t crack 300 carries in a season until his fourth year. Even still, the Titans are reportedly shopping him in trade talks given he still can be a premium-level runner in the right offense.
Elliott just isn’t that guy anymore. He’s still a menace near the goal-line, but you can pay players the league minimum to play that role.
Tony Pollard is very clearly the more explosive back, and lapped his running mate in every major statistical category, including yards per attempt, explosive runs, yards after contact, and forced missed tackles.
Elliott gave everything (and then some) for the Cowboys. Between playing through injuries, and playing the role of a workhorse running back, it’s sadly no surprise his athleticism is fading and was viewed as expendable.
1. The salary cap savings
If the Cowboys were set on trading Amari Cooper to save cap space, then releasing Elliott shouldn’t have needed much deliberation.
Cooper proved with the Browns (78 catches for 1,1160 yards and nine TDs), that he’s still a borderline top-10 player at his position. In Elliott’s case, you can probably name 15 or so running backs in the league — if not more — that you’d prefer to this version of the former No. 4 overall pick.
Again, the cap savings is the biggest variable here.
As a post-June 1 release, cutting Elliott will save Dallas $10.9 million against the cap. It’s more than what they’d save next offseason. If they waited until 2025, releasing the player will save $15.4 million, per OverTheCap, but that’s not happening. This was simply the best time to get it done, and doing so this early into free agency gives Zeke plenty of time to find a new home.
He deserves that much.
If the Cowboys want to build a Super Bowl-worthy roster, they need to throw some money around. Stephon Gilmore is a start, and releasing Elliott is also a part of that process. It will hurt for a while, but it’ll benefit the organization in the long run.
Who knows? It may pay off as recently as next season.
Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott now has perfect new home if released
With Austin Ekeler requesting a trade, the Chargers feel like a perfect landing spot for Ezekiel Elliott if he's released by the Cowboys.