4 reasons the Dallas Cowboys will disappoint in 2022
By Randy Gurzi
1. Overpaying the RB comes back to haunt
There’s no way to spin the contract Dallas gave to Ezekiel Elliott in a good way. Most teams know by now that if you do pay a running back, you pay them for a very short period of time — preferably three-to-four years, with an out after two.
The Cowboys, however, allowed a holdout from Zeke to lead to an extension — on a contract that already had two more years on it. Jerry Jones and his front office elected to sign Elliott through the 2026 season while adding $90 million to his deal.
This albatross of a contract has already started to make things tough on the franchise as they had to trade Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns for a fifth-round pick this offseason simply to make room in the salary cap. They were also unable to retain Cedrick Wilson who had a career year in 2021.
The Cowboys are likely cutting a top WR because they signed Ezekiel Elliott to a contract everyone knew was insane the moment pen hit paper.
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) March 4, 2022
So in a passing league where the best aerial attacks make it to the title games, Dallas is all-in on a running back who isn’t even as effective as his backup, Tony Pollard. Even with Pollard being a more explosive player, they will continue to roll with Elliott because, well, that’s what they do in Big D.
When the owner is as involved in day-to-day operations as Jones is, the coaches will keep playing the guy who has the biggest salary. And that’s hurt them on the field, and now is hurting them on the depth chart.
If things do go wrong in 2022, a major portion of the blame can be pinned on what might be the worst contract in all of football.
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