Of course, Elliott is a free agent and could sign with any of the NFL's 32 teams at any time he chooses over the next few months, but it's also true that he considers Dallas “home.” , which includes his services. Local his DFW community.
The first divorce was purely financial and added to the Cowboys' cap crisis, with Elliott still counting as $6 million in dead money toward this year's cap. This money has already been provided by the Cowboys and cannot be moved from the current cap list. Spending.
That being said, Jones made it clear that it will not influence their decision regarding Elliott in any way.
“We're not even considering it,” Jones said. “He earned that $6 million. We've already spent it. We're going to pay for it.” [bill] whether he is here or not. Just because it's him doesn't mean it affects anything. [or not] He's on this team this year.
“Let me just say this: I thought he played really well late in the season in New England. It was really good.”
And while the club signed Royce Freeman shortly before the draft, executive vice president and director of human resources Steven Stephen was asked if signing Freeman would prevent them from adding another running back, such as Elliott.・Jones didn't mince words.
“no, [because] We want a lot of competition there,” he said.
The 28-year-old certainly made an impact for the Patriots in 2023, his only season away from the Cowboys, totaling 955 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns in just five starts. Elliott could also be seen as a stabilizing force in a running backs room that is currently in great flux following the departure of Tony Pollard to the Tennessee Titans in free agency.
Re-signing Rico Doodle certainly helps, but there's a lot of unproven talent behind Doodle on the depth chart, and that's unproven before this year's draft is all over. The amount of talent could increase even further.
But would drafting another running back take Jones and the Cowboys out of contention for Elliott — especially since that player is a former long running back the Cowboys are highly valuing heading into Day 2? Is it someone like Horns running back Jonathan Brooks?
“No,” Jones said firmly.
After a completely unexpected start to free agency, things could get very interesting in Dallas over the next few days.