The future of Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott has been front-of-mind since the emergence of Tony Pollard as “the guy” to run the football for the offense.
Ezekiel Elliott
With Dallas currently having an out in Elliott’s contract and the two-time rushing champ now having no guaranteed money left, the Cowboys must make a decision … or could it be made for them?
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Scouting Combine could prove decisive.
“What’s going to happen here is at the Combine, Zeke Elliott’s agents have to figure out his value to other teams in what looks like a deep free agent running back class,” Schefter said on NFL Live.
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Except for the supposed timing of the decision, Schefter isn’t really breaking new ground here. With Elliott projected to have a cap hit of $16.7 million and a dead cap hit of $11.86 million, the thought of parting ways with the former first-round selection – or at least the thought of parting ways with his existing contract – has always been an option as part of the plan.
Considering that Dallas may opt to franchise tag Pollard and might even give Malik Davis a more prominent role in the offense, Zeke may be pushed out.
But Schefter did state that if there are no suitors who are willing to give Elliott a big deal, then the best option is to take a substantial pay cut to remain in Frisco … though Dallas could still release him to free up significant cap space ahead of free agency.
“If there’s a team out there that’s willing to pay him big money, then yeah, you’ll refuse to restructure your contract, be released, you’ll sign on somewhere else,” Schefter said. “But what are the chances? Probably not very high, so that leads us back to a situation where I think he and the Cowboys might be most valuable for each other.”
Again, Schefter is breathlessly stating the obvious here. We know that Elliott’s position is somewhat precarious, even if he himself has stated a desire to remain at The Star. The Scouting Combine will give us a good indication of his future in Dallas.