Dallas Cowboys: Latest Ezekiel Elliott Comments Spark Retirement Talks
This summer, the Dallas Cowboys did not make many noteworthy free agency acquisitions. The Cowboys failed to sign comparable quality (at least on paper) to replace the departing Pro Bowl players Tyron Smith and Tony Pollard. Because of the team’s lack of significant spending and the ongoing contract talks with Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons, many supporters think owner Jerry Jones lied when he stated he was “all in” this season. Naturally, the Cowboys made an intriguing choice in re-signing running back Ezekiel Elliott, who played for the New England Patriots the previous season after beginning his career in Dallas.
Last year, Elliott had a career-low 642 rushing yards while averaging just 3.5 yards per carry (also a career-low).
According to Jon Machota, who covers the Cowboys for The Athletic, Elliott recently stated, “The shelf life of an NFL player is three years. Every snap, every year, one more year I get is a blessing.” He continued, “I think it was important for me to come back because I have unfinished business. I felt like I wanted to come back and be with my guys and take another spin at it. “Right now, the focus is now, having as much fun as I can. I don’t know how many more of these I’m going to have. And just take advantage of being here and living in the moment.” As Elliott states above, he feels that he has unfinished business in Dallas, which is why he decided to come back on a team-friendly deal.
His comments, too, seem to be very reflective, the sort of comments one makes when they are close to end of their career.
Jerry Trotta of The Landy Hat wrote that Elliott’s comments “sounded like a player who has retirement in the back of his mind.”
Elliott’s career has undoubtedly been impressive thus far, but he has been slipping for a while now. He did not had more than 1,000 yards of rushing yards since 2021, when he averaged 4.2 yards per carry with 1,002 yards of rushes. During his final season with the Cowboys in 2022, he averaged 3.8 yards per carry and gained 872 yards of rushing (but he did score 10 rushing touchdowns). Dallas intends to use a running back by committee this season, which means that no running back will receive the bulk of offensive snaps—at least not at first. Elliott may be able to prolong his career with this strategy, but in the end, it is up to him.
He has a one-year deal with the Cowboys for this season, so he will not be around the team beyond 2024, but that is also true for many other well-known players and coaches. All of this means that if Elliott decides to end his career after 2024, it will not come as a huge surprise.
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