Running back Ezekiel Elliott said last week he wants to remain with the Cowboys. The team’s decision-makers said Wednesday they “absolutely” want Elliott back.
Owner Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones both expressed optimism at keeping the veteran for next season.
“You always want Zeke,” Stephen Jones said, via Nick Eatman of the team website, “but do the numbers work? You can’t define what Zeke does for our football team.”
Elliott had a career-low 231 carries, a career-low 876 rushing yards, a career-low 3.8 yards per carry, a career-low 17 receptions and a career-low 92 receiving yards. In two postseason games, he had 23 carries for 53 yards and three catches for 16 yards and no touchdowns.
If Elliott returns, he will come back on a greatly reduced contract.
Elliott, who turns 28 this summer, is due to make a $10.9 million base salary in 2023 with a $16.72 million cap number. He has no guaranteed money left on his contract, and if the Cowboys designate Elliott a post-June 1 cut, they will create $10.9 million in cap space for 2023.
“Obviously, we’re probably one of the top teams in the league already with what we pay running backs,” Stephen Jones said, via Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. “We have to make sure how we pay attention to this and how we spread it out — and how we divide up the pie. We have to relook at that. We have to look at Zeke and obviously Tony [Pollard] is looking to make more money. So, we have to relook at the whole thing in terms of turning back and what that looks like.”
Pollard is scheduled to become a free agent, and Jones acknowledged the team would like to keep Pollard. The projected franchise tag for running backs is $10.09 million, but the Cowboys surely would prefer to get Pollard signed to a long-term deal.
Pollard had a career-high 1,007 rushing yards and scored 12 touchdowns, one more than he had in his first three seasons combined. He underwent surgery for a high ankle sprain last week.
