The Cowboys cut Elliott on Mar. 15 at the official start of free agency. That was a move that saved the team over $10.9 million as it was designated as a post Jun. 1 cut.
But why not restructure Elliott’s deal rather than releasing him? According to Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein, the Cowboys didn’t want to be the ones to slap Elliott in the face with a cheaper deal.
“The last thing we want to do is do anything that would be insulting to a player, to a great player, like Zeke, who was one of the best players to ever put on a Cowboys uniform,” Cowboys’ executive vice president Stephen Jones said to Epstein. “There are sensitivities when you get into making offers.
Rather than provide Elliott with an “insulting” deal, the Cowboys figured other teams should have those tough conversations with Elliott about signing a lesser contract.
Just four years removed from signing Elliott’s previous six-year, $90 million contract, the richest contract among all active running backs, Elliott didn’t look anything like his old All-Pro self in 2022. Elliott ran for a career low 876 yards and 3.8 yards per carry after leading the league in rushing during his 2016 rookie campaign.
Tony Pollard eventually took over as the starting running back for the Cowboys during the season, finishing the year with 1,007 yards, nine touchdowns and all while averaging 5.2 yards per carry.
As far as what happens with Elliott, he’s reportedly been interested in three teams, including the Bengals, but neither of them have extended offers to him. Should Elliott fail to land a new deal elsewhere, there’s always the possibility of returning to Dallas on a lesser deal.
That could be fitting for the seven-year vet who’s a fan favorite in Dallas, but Elliott has to see what’s out there first before reaching such a conclusion.
“Sometimes the best thing is to let them get a feel for what the market is,” Jones said about Elliott’s future. “When you’re talking about great players — and that’s what makes them great: They think a lot, not in a selfish way, but they perceive themselves as a great player and they are. It just becomes how do you make the business work. It always boils down to that unfortunately.”
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