The Cowboys Are Set To Release This Big Dynamic Player
In 2019, the Cowboys signed Zeke to a six-year extension worth $90 million, including a $7.5 million signing bonus, with $50 million guaranteed, and an annual salary of $15 million. In 2023, Elliott earned a salary base of $10.9 million, but Dallas could release Elliott.
Elliott doesn’t have any guarantees signed to his contract. Either the Cowboys release him and take a salary cap hit, or they can restructure his contract and make it more team-friendly.
Ezekiel Elliott has clarified that he still wants to be a Dallas Cowboys and will take a pay cut to stay with the team. If the Cowboys release Zeke, the team could save $10.9 million in cap space with a $5.8 million dead cap hit if designated as a post-June one cut.
Zeke’s Time In The Cowboys Franchise
Zeke has been a workhorse for the Cowboys’ offensive slaughter. He’s a contact player, and he can bolster through defensive lines. Zeke loves to dish out contact.
The rich run-offensive scheme has worked for the Cowboys because the team has essential centerpieces to help create gaps and holes. The Cowboys’ offensive line was one of the best during Zeke’s tenure with the team, so it was easy for him to run through defenses.
Ezekiel is the third-time leading rusher in the franchise’s history. The team has made noise publicly about bringing him back. Elliott, 27, coming off career lows in rush attempts (231), rush yards (876), and rushing average (3.8) seems daunting.
In the first four seasons of Ezekiel Elliott’s career, he was the best at the RB position. He won two rushing titles (2016, 2018) and led the league in yards per game (98.3) despite missing six games due to his domestic case allegations.
In 2019, Prescott stole Zeke’s shine with his near franchise record of passing yards (4,902), even with Ezekiel’s great season behind the team’s offensive line. In the 2019 season, Zeke finished with 1,357 (4th) rushing yards and 12 touchdowns (4th) and finished the season with 1,777 all-purpose yards. Ezekiel also had seven 100-yard rushing games.
Ezekiel Elliott highlights 2019 NFL regular season Week 3 Dallas Cowboys vs Miami Dolphins pic.twitter.com/LNjULxGHSw — ✭ 🤠 Cowboy X Factor #BumsandFrauds (@CowboyXFactor) September 23, 2019
Dak and Zeke took the football world by storm and became best friends doing so, it would be weird seeing Dak play without his right-hand man, but business is business.
Many would say that his production has been trending in the wrong direction since his domestic violence case. But 2020 changed the indestructible RB, resulting in a weird year that solely changed Elliott. He produced a career-high in fumbles (6) while battling covid and a calf strain. He also dealt with offensive line issues while its top three players missed 36 games.
Zeke was called a mere shell of himself but regained complete control of his performance woes and reached a 1,000-yard season with double-digit touchdowns (10).
In 2022, Zeke was in the best shape of his career. Still, he lost spark when Tony Pollard had his first 1,000-yard rushing season (1,007) on fewer attempts (193), averaging 5.2 yards per carry, adding 39 receptions (371) and nine total touchdowns.
Pollard keeps Ezekiel Elliott healthy, and their one-two punch has worked for the team. Tony’s speed and Zeke’s head-on collision contact runs helped the Cowboys reach the second round of the playoffs.
Is Zeke’s Future in Question?
There’s no doubt that Zeke’s production has been significantly low, but he’s still a freight train of a running back. His future with the Cowboys is hanging on by a thread, but no one knows. Sources say the running back could lose his job to the Dallas Cowboys.
Moreover, if the running back is released, he still has some juice left in the tank, but he’ll be entering a stacked RB Market.