Ezekiel Elliott Signs with Former Team; What Does It Mean?
Yesterday morning, the Dallas Cowboys signed back a familiar face Ezekiel Elliott to a one-year, three-million dollar deal. After Tony Pollard signed with the Tennessee Titans back in March, Dallas scrambled to find a running back. They have two unproven, young backs in Deuce Vaughn and Rico Dowdle while they also signed Royce Freeman, but that wasn’t enough for the Cowboys. All three backs on the roster before the signing of Elliott have never been starters, so they desperately needed one. Many Cowboys were confused after the 2024 NFL Draft, as Dallas didn’t pick up any running backs. More were very confused when they signed Elliott yesterday morning. However, bringing back their former All-Pro running back might not be so bad.
Elliot, a three-time Pro-Bowler, one-time All-Pro, and the 2016 Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year had a down year last season with the New England Patriots. He rushed for 642 yards and three touchdowns on 235 touches. He also had 313 receiving yards and caught two touchdowns. While these stats may not seem good, he was in a very troubled Patriots offense that finished the season with a 4-13 record and averaged the second-lowest points per game last season at 13.9. It’s very hard to succeed in an offense that scores less than two touchdowns per game.
On the other hand, the Cowboys lead the NFL in scoring with 30.1 points per game. He can be a big boost to the Cowboys offense that really needs it. Last season, in his first season as a full-time starter, Pollard rushed for just over 1,000 yards and six touchdowns. Pollard is more of an outside rusher, which didn’t translate well as a starter. On the other hand, Elliott rushes a lot more inside, which works much better in the Cowboys’ offense. In Elliott’s final season with Dallas, he and Pollard shared touches, which led to an amazing one-two punch for the Cowboys. I can see them doing something similar with Elliott and one of their other three running backs on their roster. The best option for this is probably Dowdle, who had a little bit of success with limited touches last season, rushing for 361 yards and two touchdowns on 106 touches. This under-the-radar pickup for Dallas can prove to be vital if it pans out this upcoming season.
