The Cowboys released running back Ezekiel Elliott on Tuesday, marking a quiet end to a Dallas career that began with two rushing titles in three seasons but quickly declined after that.
This move ends Elliott’s second stint with the team that drafted him fourth overall in 2016. The Cowboys let him go after the 2022 season to save money.
Elliott’s release could now give the 29-year-old a chance to join a playoff team looking for a veteran running back.
A similar situation occurred last season with four-time Pro Bowler Dalvin Cook, who was released by the New York Jets and later played for Baltimore in a wild-card win. Cook is currently on Dallas’ practice squad.
“Out of respect and appreciation for Zeke and wanting to provide him with an opportunity to pursue any potential playoff participation possible, we are releasing him from the Cowboys roster today,” said owner and general manager Jerry Jones.
“As I have said many times previously, Zeke’s impact as one of the greatest to ever play with the Star on their helmet will never change and is etched in our record books and history forever.”
Elliott spent one season with New England before returning to the Cowboys on a one-year deal, hoping to find something left in a player who had averaged 1,351 yards per season and 97 yards per game in his first four years.
Instead, Elliott never really challenged fifth-year player Rico Dowdle for the starting role, and Dowdle became the first undrafted running back in franchise history to rush for 1,000 yards.
Dowdle has 1,007 yards heading into the Cowboys’ (7-9) season finale against playoff-bound Washington (11-5) on Sunday. Elliott had just 74 carries for 226 yards, with a 3.1-yard-per-carry average, marking career lows.
Elliott’s first two seasons with the Cowboys were filled with off-field issues, including a six-game suspension in 2017 over domestic violence allegations.
There were more problems this season when he was left at home for a game against Atlanta for disciplinary reasons. He played the following eight games.
Elliott had two rushing titles and led the NFL in yards per game in all three of his first seasons, even after holding out for the entire 2019 preseason before signing a $90 million extension. His performance, however, never matched that expensive contract.
The 2016 All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler ends his Dallas career with 1,955 carries for 8,488 yards and 71 touchdowns, ranking third in the club’s history in all three categories behind Pro Football Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time rushing leader, and Tony Dorsett. Elliott has 9,130 yards and 74 touchdowns in his career.
