Ezekiel Elliott planning to sign with Cowboys after year with Patriots: Report

After a year away from the team that drafted him, Ezekiel Elliott is planning to sign a one-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys, according to a report from the Athletic.

The running back played the 2023-24 season with the Patriots, collecting 642 yards and three touchdowns on a career-low 3.5 yards per carry. Elliott met with Jerry and Stephen Jones last week, according to reporting from the Athletic, which made the reunion nearly inevitable.

The Cowboys are in dire straights when it comes to RB depth. They lost Tony Pollard to the Titans, did not sign any notable free agents besides Royce Freeman and missed out on drafting former Texas RB Jonathon Brooks, who was a favorite of Jones. Their recent draft haul included three offensive linemen but no rookie RB.

Ezekiel Elliot stats

While Elliott is one of the best backs in franchise history, he has also declined year after year in the NFL and has not reached more than 1,100 rushing yards since 2019. Before that however, Elliott came into the league in 2016 as a dynamic rookie who rushed for 1,631 yards and 15 touchdowns.

He had three more productive seasons before signing a six-year, $90 million deal with Dallas, one of the most expensive RB contracts in NFL history. Elliott rushed for 8,262 yards and 68 touchdowns during his time in with the Cowboys but was cut after the 2022-23 season.

Despite that, the elder Jones believes that the eight-year veteran still has some legs under him, as he was impressed with Elliott's play with New England.

"I’ll tell you, he’s good enough to be a starter,” Jones said.

Elliott will be competing with a backfield that consists of Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn, Freeman, Malik Davis, Hunter Luepke, Snoop Conner and recently signed undrafted free agent Nathaniel Peat.

“He’s a positive influence at all times,” Jerry Jones said Saturday night after the draft. “Not one time, even in maybe some critical times, has he been anything but a positive and a winning influence as a person and a teammate of the Dallas Cowboys. That’s a big plus that he has. He’s a lift. He’s outstanding in that area."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Ezekiel Elliott planning to sign one-year deal with Cowboys: Report