Reporter has intel on possible Ezekiel Elliott-Cowboys reunion
It appears the longer free-agent running back Ezekiel Elliott remains unsigned, the more likely he is to return to the Dallas Cowboys.
At least that’s what several national media pundits believe, including NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, who stated on a recent appearance on “NFL Total Access” that a reunion between the Cowboys and the 27-year-old RB is starting to make a lot of sense.
“Dallas still believes that he’s got football left,” Garafolo said. “Now, he’s not going to be the lead back there, obviously, if he does return there, and there’s not really a bunch of teams beating down his door to give him a lot of money right now. I know a lot of folks are still connecting him to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that’s where Skip Peete, his former running backs coach in Dallas, is now. But I don’t sense that Tampa is hot on his trail. So perhaps a return to Dallas in the long run could be where this is heading."
Dallas released Elliott in early March due to what head coach Mike McCarthy called “capanomics.” The former No. 4 overall pick carried a $16.7 million cap hit in 2023, and the Cowboys saved $10.9 million by cutting him. After franchise-tagging Tony Pollard, Dallas couldn’t justify spending more than $10 million on two running backs.
Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones also suggested in April that by releasing Elliott, it allowed him to test the free-agent market and see what his value truly is, which Jones feels is more in line with what Dallas is willing to pay him and not that of a top-tier RB. (Elliott rushed for just 876 yards and averaged 3.8 yards per carry in 2022, both career lows).
Dallas has maintained ever since releasing Elliott that the door is always open for him to return — at the right price.
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