The Ezekiel Elliott era in Dallas appears to be coming to a close.
The Cowboys are "set to part ways" with Elliott and could release him as soon as Wednesday afternoon, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
Hill joined Shan, RJ and Bobby this morning to discuss his report.
"I always figured this was going to be the end result. I never bought into them figuring a way to keep Zeke around. I just didn't see a path, a number that made sense," Hill said.
Elliott spent the first seven years of his career with the Cowboys after being selected with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2016 draft. During his time with Dallas, Elliott was a two-time All-Pro (One first-team, One second-team), a three-time Pro Bowler, and led the NFL in rushing twice. He topped 1,000 yards four times and scored more than ten rushing touchdowns four times.
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Elliott's stellar production in his first three seasons led the Cowboys to sign him to a six-year, $90 million contract extension in 2019. That decision has hampered the organization ever since, and likely resulted in the Cowboys decision to move on from No. 1 wide receiver Amari Cooper before last season.
Elliott is set to count $16.72 million against the Cowboys salary cap this season. By cutting him, Dallas would free up $4.86 million in cap space, or 10.9 million if they designate him as a post-June 1 release.
Despite owner Jerry Jones saying recently that he wanted Elliott to return as long as the financials made sense for both sides, it's no surprise that the Cowboys are moving on here. The writing was on the wall that Elliott's time in Dallas was over when the organization placed the $10.09 million franchise tag on Tony Pollard on March 6.
Elliott had a career-low 876 yards rushing and a career-low 3.8 yards per carry last season and was surpassed Pollard on the depth chart.
Despite his low production, Elliott is still only 27 and believes he still has football left in him.
"Zeke believes he has some years left. (Ezekiel Elliott's reps) certainly think if he's healthy and didn't have the knee injury, he probably would have topped 1,000 yards last year. Obviously, they think their name, their history, and (with) their resume, that they will have a market," Hill said.
With Elliott on his way out, Dallas will now turn its attention to the upcoming NFL Draft to find a backfield partner for Pollard. According to 105.3 The Fan's Bobby Belt, Dallas is already doing their homework on a few of the talented backs in this year's class, including Texas' Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson and TCU's Kendre Miller.
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