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Frisco, Texas — I take a sacred new oath, Batman.After his first season apart in the past eight years, Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys found their way back to each other on a one-year deal that could see Ezekiel Elliott meet. Crowned Homecoming King in 2024in a move that poured cement into the unstable foundation of the running backs room.
This re-signing comes just 49 days after Elliott's former Robin (and eventual Nightwing) Tony Pollard returned to his Tennessee hometown on a multi-year deal with the Titans, and two weeks after the addition of Royce Freeman. This took place about 48 hours after he signed with the Cowboys. He decided to withdraw from the 2024 NFL Draft without selecting a running back.
So where do they stand now?
They will eventually sign an undrafted free agent, Nathaniel Peat out of Missouri, to complete their current (keyword) stable of backs.
- Ezekiel Elliott
- Rico Doodle
- hunter luepke
- Malik Davis
- deuce vaughn
- lois freeman
- snoop conner
- Nathanial Pete(R)
The picture that Elliott would not only serve as a safety net for the Cowboys as they navigate the draft, but that his presence in the background would also guide them on draft day has long been on the rise over the past few weeks. , has been painted with broad strokes and pastel watercolors. Move.
Because they didn't have a fourth-round pick, they traded with the Detroit Lions for a third-round pick (73rd overall), which ended up being former Kansas State hitter Cooper Beebe. Ta.
One example of Elliott's quiet influence came in the form of former Notre Dame linebacker Marist Liufau. He was the team's 87th overall pick, ahead of running backs, and also the coveted official No. 30 pick in Dallas — such as Jalen Wright, Bucky, Irving and Braylen Allen.
Due to the aforementioned loss (pun?) at the position in the fourth round, a total of seven running backs were selected in that round alone, giving hope to whether the Cowboys can make an impact in this year's tournament going forward. has almost disappeared. draft; and they plan to revisit it next April.
As of now, Elliott has been snapped up to appear in the third installment of the Dallas version of the Dark Knight trilogy, making this his third contract with the club, but speaking of contracts, let me explain a little. want.
Elliott will not receive two paychecks from the Cowboys in 2024.
Is there any dead money on this year's $6 million salary cap from Elliott's second contract? The answer is yes. But is that money still going to be paid out of this year's salary cap?
Say it in both English and Spanish. “No.”
Dead money is just that, folks. He died. And for contracts that have already expired or been terminated, it is completely void. We're not waiting for Michael Jackson's “Thriller” to crawl out of the grave and become a nuisance today or in the future. It's important to understand this.
The $6 million dead money hit was created by money already paid to players, such as upfront signing bonuses, which the NFL allowed to be prorated (spread out) over the length of existing contracts to reduce the amount. It is being Prepaid cap penalty.
Example: If a player is given a $30 million cash signing bonus on a five-year contract, the dead money for each of the five years would be… $6 million. If a player is released in the third year of his contract, that dead money will not disappear in the fifth year.
why? This is because the payment has already been made in advance and in a lump sum, and there is no collection.
The cash has already been spent on Elliott's previous contract.
This is why the $6 million penalty for the 2024 season did not affect the Cowboys' decision to suspend Elliott. Because we won't be paying him twice this year. They're paying him a one-time deal for just $2 million — just $800,000 above the veteran's minimum salary, no less — and they know what they expected from him in Week 1 of the season. It's a reasonable contract for what they are doing.
And what would it be?
Well, it's a move simply for cap reasons, not a drop in performance, to reinstall what was lost when the Cowboys parted ways with Elliott after the 2022 season. At the time, they thought it would be smarter to divorce Elliott for cap space and then place the franchise tag on Pollard, removing Sledgehammer from their toolbox in the process.
While the Pollard-Dowdle tandem was fruitful, it lacked the punching power needed many times in short-yardage situations (e.g. against the Miami Dolphins), and head coach Mike McCarthy criticized the rush after the game. When asked about the attack, he said the rushing attack was substandard. An embarrassing ending to the season.
Lupke had a breakthrough late in his rookie season, but some gaffes (a goal-line fumble against the Dolphins) forced McCarthy to loosen the reins over the next few games.
Vaughn was clearly never considered a short-yardage option, and Malik Davis wasn't given a single offensive carry last season, which is likely due to his size and skillset already twinning with Pollard. This is probably because it resembled Doodle's. For the most part.
The additions of Conner, Freeman and Pete will no doubt add more competition to the pack, but Elliott is the only sure thing here – even taking into account Dowdle's impressive career-best season. Considering the prevalence of Elliott's durability also has.
Not only is he proven, he rarely misses time in one of the most brutal positions in football.
But let's not put all of the blame for the run game's struggles on 2023 lead backs Pollard and Doodle. This is because much of this is due to poor performance on the offensive line. Repeated injuries have cost Tyron Smith, Tyler Smith, and even Zach Martin several games, and Terrence Steele is still working his way back from a torn ACL in 2022. Ta.
Kudos to emerging players like TJ Bass and Brock Hoffman for jumping into the fire and not getting burned, but the lack of chemistry across the offensive line due to the personnel merry-go-round didn't do Pollard and Dowdle any favors. .
But that's not the line Elliott and Dowdle will be following in 2024.
It's probably this:
- LT – Tyler Guyton (R)
- LG – Tyler Smith
- C – Cooper Beebe (R)
- RG – Zack Martin
- RT – Terrence Steele
“My, my, my,” said Johnny Gill.
Check out my scouting reports on both Guyton and Beebe for a detailed look at what each brings to the table. But don't get me wrong, they are both good run-blocking attackers, and that selection is not entirely coincidental. They also have rookie seventh-round pick Nathan Thomas, the Cowboys have a triple down on the offensive line in this year's draft, and the former Louisiana State offensive lineman adds plenty of troubling elements to the mix.
You can't legitimately try to predict the impact of Elliott's return to Dallas without factoring in a completely rebuilt offensive line. Because these two things work together.
With two rushing titles and several franchise records under his belt, is Elliott still at his best? No, but he doesn't need to be on this year's Cowboys roster, and he's a lot different than he was in 2016 when they were the No. 4 overall pick.
All he has to do is coach and lead an unproven group behind him, as he has long done with Pollard and Doodle, continue to be one of the best pass-pro running backs in the entire league, and make short work of the shortstop. All you have to do is do the heavy lifting in the yard. A goal-scoring situation.
Considering what he was able to do in just five starts for the Patriots last season, there's little question that the former All-Pro still has that much talent. And if the offensive line can find their best form quickly, his job will be a lot easier.
Quarterback Dak Prescott is likewise currently an All-Pro and MVP runner-up, and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb continues to rack up franchise and league records as well as All-Pro selections.
Throw in explosive talent like Brandin Cooks and Jake Ferguson; whole Current photo.
Should the Cowboys have selected a running back in this year's draft, both now and then? My answer is yes. However, they instead decided to add his three new bodies to the O-line to help who might take handoffs behind the O-line.
Elliot may no longer be the young Bruce Wayne, but the older version of Batman still kicked a lot of butt…but he also had the Justice League helping him win.
