NFL Analyst Rips Dallas Cowboys For Ezekiel Elliott Signing

Carton says that Dallas did nothing in free agency and that its draft wasn’t exactly sparkling. He adds that while he respects Elliott and his desire to continue playing football, it seems pretty clear that the halfback is finished based on what he did with the New England Patriots this past season.

Elliott played every game for the Patriots in 2023, rushing for 642 yards and three touchdowns while averaging a meager 3.5 yards per carry. He also caught 51 passes for 313 yards and a couple of scores.

While the reunion between Elliott and the Cowboys is certainly a cool story, it also reeks of desperation and panic on the part of Dallas.

It would have been one thing if the Cowboys brought in another running back in free agency or the draft and then signed Elliott to complement him, but that’s not what happened here.

Dallas struck out on a halfack in free agency last month and it also surprisingly did not select one in the draft, leaving the Cowboys with an unenviable running back room of Deuce Vaughn and Rico Dowdle.

That essentially left Dallas with no choice but to sign Elliott, who may now very well be the team’s featured back heading into 2024.

That would be great if this were 2018, but it’s not. Elliott has obviously fallen off a cliff the past couple of years, and that was even noticeable in his most recent season with the Dallas in 2022 when he logged 3.8 yards per rushing attempt.

We’ll see if Ezekiel Elliott has anything left in the tank for next season. Or, perhaps Vaughn or Dowdle will surprise all of us.