Ezekiel Elliott hopes the final play of Sunday’s loss to the 49ers wasn’t the final play of his Cowboys’ career. The running back concedes, though, that his time with the team might be finished.
“Definitely thought about it,” Elliott said postgame, via Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I want to be here. I don’t have a crystal ball. I can’t tell you the future, but I definitely want to be here.”
Elliott lined up at center on an ill-fated trick play on the final play of the 19-12 loss Sunday, and 49ers linebacker Azeez Al-Shahir trucked him immediately after the snap. It summed up Elliott’s seventh season in Dallas.
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.
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 take only a $5.8 million hit in dead money.
Would the Cowboys even entertain bringing back Elliott with a deep pay cut? It doesn’t seem likely after the season he had.