Cowboys Close To Re-Signing Ezekiel Elliott?

SUNDAY, 9:48am: The Cowboys did not add a running back on Day 3 of this weekend’s draft either. As Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram relays, Jerry Jones believes that Elliott still has RB1 abilities, and while executive vice president Stephen Jones conceded in his post-draft presser that the team would have considered an RB if the right player had been available, the running back need never aligned with value in the front office’s estimation (via Moore).

Interestingly, last year’s Trey Lance trade is a primary reason for Dallas’ inability to select a Day 3 RB prospect. The Cowboys sent a fourth-round choice, which ultimately became 2024’s No. 124 overall pick, to the 49ers in exchange for Lance in August. After the Niners used that pick on safety Malik Mustapha, five of the next 10 players off the board were running backs. Four of those — Bucky Irving, Ray Davis, Isaac Guerendo, and Braelon Allen — were intriguing to Dallas, which did not have a selection between pick nos. 87 and 174.

While Stephen Jones did not mention Elliott by name when speaking to reporters after the draft was over, Moore says “it was understood” the EVP was talking about Elliott when he said, “we’ll have opportunities throughout to address this running back situation and feel like we’ll get that done.”

SATURDAY, 7:10am: Jones continues to hint that a reunion with Elliott could be coming. When asked why the Cowboys didn’t add to the RB position through the first two days of the draft, the team’s owner pointed back to their former star.

“First of all, the draft’s not over and that’s a thought,” Jones said (via ESPN’s Todd Archer). “And it was a long time before a running back was taken in today’s draft. But we also are keenly interested in seeing what the future might look like with Zeke.”

FRIDAY, 4:45pm: A deal with Elliott remains “increasingly imminent” at this point, something which would remain the case even with Brooks or another rookie being selected tonight, per Moore’s colleague Michael Gehlken. It will be interesting to see if further progress on a Dallas agreement produces a response from the other interested party Jones mentioned, or if a reunion officially comes together in the near future.

12:21pm: The Cowboys separated from Ezekiel Elliott‘s six-year, $90MM extension in 2023, but a reality in which the running back is tied to two Dallas contracts on this year’s payroll appears firmly in play.

Rumblings about an Elliott-Cowboys reunion have surfaced at multiple points this offseason, and the team met with the two-time rushing champion Wednesday. Elliott and his agent met were seen with Cowboys brass at multiple locations Wednesday, and Jerry Jones confirmed (via the Dallas Morning News’ David Moore) team brass “spent a lot of time with Zeke” this week.

Jones also said if (when?) the Cowboys draft a running back Friday night it would not have any bearing on how they approach an Elliott reunion. At least one other known suitor exists, per Jones, but Moore points to this reunion coming to pass. Jones said he thought Elliott played “very well” late last season with the Patriots.

This reunion was believed to be on the radar months after the team made the former star a cap casualty, but Elliott confirmed it did not gain much traction. That is no longer the case. Jones also said the $6MM — stemming from signing bonus proration on Elliott’s 2019 extension — that remains on the team’s payroll will not affect how the team proceeds with Elliott now.

“Not even a consideration,’’ Jones said. “He’s earned that $6 million. We’ve already spent it. You have to pay that whether he’s here or not. It won’t affect one thing with how he would help our team this year.’’

Elliott, 28, played last season on a one-year, $3MM deal. Another suitor being in the mix will likely lead to Elliott commanding more than the league minimum on a Cowboys reunion. While Elliott only averaged 3.5 yards per carry (a career-low number), he was tied to a 4-13 Patriots team that ran into injury issues up front — to say nothing of a woeful passing attack. Elliott started the final five Pats games, due to a Rhamondre Stevenson IR move, producing two 50-plus-yard rushing performances to close a 642-yard season in what amounted to a committee role.

Jones has offered effusive praise for Elliott in the past, even as Tony Pollard overtook him as the most productive Cowboys back. With Pollard in Nashville now, the Cowboys are likely to draft a replacement. Elliott returning would put him in position as a complementary option. Though, Dallas’ RB situation does not feature strong in-house solutions; journeyman Royce Freeman joins 2023 backup Rico Dowdle and sixth-round Deuce Vaughn, who goes 5-foot-6.

Additionally, Jones confirmed (via ESPN.com’s Todd Archer) Texas running back Jonathon Brooks is “high, high, high, high” on the team’s draft board ahead of Day 2. Jones went so far as to call his interview with Brooks the best he has conducted in 30 years. Playing behind Bijan Robinson in 2022, Brooks played well as a junior last season, accumulating 1,139 rushing yards and 10 TDs. Daniel Jeremiah’s NFL.com big board slots Brooks as the second-best option — in what is viewed as an unremarkable RB class — despite the ex-Longhorn having suffered a torn ACL last year. With the Cowboys passing on Derrick Henry and others in March, they figure to be prepared to add here soon this weekend.