4 reasons Ezekiel Elliott will not be on the Dallas Cowboys in 2023

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 16: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys looks on during pregame warm-ups prior to a game against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at AT&T Stadium on January 16, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /

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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 29: Owner Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and Executive Vice President Stephen Jones talk before a game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on September 29, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

Reason no. 4: Jerry Jones can get out of Zeke’s contract in 2023

Even though Ezekiel Elliott’s contract goes through 2026 the first four years of the contract made it virtually impossible to cut Elliott. Despite all of the guaranteed money, there are monstrous dead cap hits, all ranging between $30 and $36 million dollars annually up until 2023.

After the conclusion of the 2022 NFL season, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has an opening to cut bait with Elliott as the guaranteed money is all but paid and the dead cap hit from drops the $30 million range to $11 million.

The cap hit for 2023 if Elliott were to play would come to the sum of $16 million therefore removing Elliott from the roster (or even better would be finding a trade partner) would save the Cowboys millions over the long run. Cutting Elliott anytime before 2023 would not make any sense.

The Cowboys took a gamble making Elliott of the top three highest-paid running backs in the league and it backfired. Jerry Jones may not ever admit it and he does not have to as it is clear to anyone that follows the NFL closely.

To avoid being permanently handicapped by the deal Jones should make the move after the conclusion of the 2022 season. Jones and his staff (family) should elevate Tony Pollard to RB1 with a reasonable* deal as these exponential running back contracts are becoming a trend of the past.

The Ezekiel Elliott experiment will end in 2022 and rightfully so.

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