The Dallas Cowboys are adding a familiar face to their running back room, reportedly agreeing to a deal with Ezekiel Elliott.
According to NFL media, the Cowboys' reunion with the former No. 4 overall pick is pending a physical, but ESPN reports it is a one-year deal.
Drafted by the Cowboys in 2016, Elliott spent his first seven NFL seasons in Dallas, twice leading the league in rushing.
“As everyone knows, Zeke is one of our favorites,” Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones said last week. “He's put his life on the line for this franchise. He's the ultimate competitor.”
The Cowboys signed Elliott to a six-year, $90 million extension, making him the NFL's highest-paid running back four years later, before waiving him as a cap injury after the 2022 season.
He spent 2023 with the New England Patriots, rushing for 642 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 3.5 yards per carry.
Elliott, who turns 29 in July, made three Pro Bowls in his first four seasons with Dallas, but his numbers began to decline toward the end of his tenure. In 2022, he averaged 3.8 yards per carry and 876 rushing yards (both career lows at the time) in 15 games, surpassing Tony, who led the Cowboys with 1,007 rushing yards on 5.2 yards per carry that season. He shared time with Pollard.
But Pollard slowed down as a mainstay last season and left last month to sign a three-year, $24 million contract with the Tennessee Titans, leaving a hole in Dallas' backfield.
Despite owner Jerry Jones publicly praising Texans' Jonathon Brooks as “the best interview” he's ever had with a player, the Cowboys didn't draft a running back in last week's NFL Draft. I didn't nominate it.
Elliott will join Dallas' position group that includes Rico Doodle, who rushed for 361 yards and two touchdowns last season, and 2023 sixth-round pick Deuce Vaughn. Royce Freeman, 28, also signed with the Cowboys this month, making his fifth team in seven years.
Elliott's 8,262 rushing yards and 68 touchdowns rank third in Cowboys history, behind only Emmett Smith, who had 17,162 yards and 153 touchdowns, and Tony Dorsett, who had 12,036 yards and 72 touchdowns during his time with Dallas.
