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

Ezekiel Elliott is one of the highest-paid running backs in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys. Here is why he won’t be a Cowboy in 2023.

Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott signed a monster contract in 2019. This quickly turned into a monstrosity of a contract that is hindering the team financially.

Elliott will likely be absent from the Cowboys’ roster in 2023. Here are a few reasons why.

Reason no. 1 Ezekiel Elliott won’t be on the Cowboys in 2023: Value

This is the easiest explanation for why Ezekiel Elliott will not be a member of the Dallas Cowboys in 2023. In 2019 Elliott signed a massive contract extension for six years worth up to $90 million.

Not only was the contract detrimental to the overall cap situation for the Cowboys but it provided Elliott with an elevated amount of guaranteed cash; approximately $50 million.

Elliott is being paid more than the following running backs;

• Dalvin Cook
• Derrick Henry
• Nick Chubb
• Aaron Jones
• Joe Mixon

If the choice was yours to take any of the five running backs listed above instead of Elliott for less money which of the five would you take?

The answer should be all of them. Aside from showing that he has less burst, and a diminished ability to shed tackles, Elliott’s production doesn’t match his salary.

In 2021 Elliott rushed for 1002 yards on 237 attempts with 10 touchdowns and an average of 4.2 yards per rush. Elliott’s average rushing yards per game ranked him 28th out of all the other running backs in the league. Elliott’s average yards per game have been on the decline.

Let’s talk about the Cowboy’s next option at running back that would help steer the Cowboys toward cutting Elliott after this season.

Reason no. 2: Ezekiel Elliott’s replacement on the roster

If you have been following hot topics surrounding the Cowboys you have heard of running back Tony Pollard.

Pollard is the second back on the depth chart but has been a member of the Cowboys roster since 2019, the same year Elliott signed his extension. Pollard showed exponential growth in 2021 and finished the year with 719 rushing yards on 130 carries with a 5.5-yard average per rush. 

Pollard’s rushing average ranked him 5th overall for all running backs in the league while Elliott sat at 28th with his average of 4.2 yards.

Pollard logged only three hundred fewer rushing yards than Elliott with 100 fewer carries. Not only does Pollard step over Elliott with his average rushing yards he is a more versatile threat than Elliott due to his effectiveness as a receiving back.

Pollard had 337 receiving yards on 39 receptions (46 targets) while Elliott had 287 yards on 47 receptions (65 targets) with the same amount of touchdowns as Pollard; two.

Elliott was given more opportunities on both fronts than Pollard yet Pollard did more with less.

While Pollard finished the year with only two rushing and two receiving touchdowns the reason why is clear.

The Dallas Cowboys made the financial investment in Elliott and to bench him for Pollard to obtain more snaps would be essentially admitting that they made a mistake. Additionally, they have already paid Elliott more than 50% of the money that his contract offers and they plan to run Elliott as hard as possible to get a return on their investment.

Speaking of investment if you’re curious how much the Cowboys are paying Pollard for his current level of production (which is more productive than Elliott by far) his contract guarantees him approximately $667,000 as opposed to Elliott’s $50 million and Pollard’s four-year contract tops out at $3.1 million with Elliott’s around $90 million.

No. Brainer.

Reason no. 3: Ezekiel Elliott’s maturity/effort

After the Cowboys’ initial success in 2016, Elliott appeared to be more interested in the off-field activities that come with being a professional football player.

It was not long before it got him into trouble. After the conclusion of the season, Elliott was seen pulling off a woman’s top exposing her breasts at a St. Patrick’s Day parade and he offered a limited explanation for that act.

During the 2017 season, Elliott was suspended for six games for violating the personal conduct policy due to five separate accusations of domestic violence with an ex-girlfriend. Prior to that same season beginning there were issues of Elliott gaining weight, and not appearing interested in the meeting room, and then there were on-field issues as well.

During his suspension, Elliott elected to go to Cabo San Lucas to “train” as opposed to working out in the US which raised some eyebrows due to the obvious temptations in Mexico. Upon his return, the Cowboys lost against the Seahawks which eliminated them from playoff contention.

In 2019 Elliott was captured on TMZ video after knocking a security guard to the ground and was subsequently placed in handcuffs by the Las Vegas Metro police. The security guard declined to press charges and Elliott was released.

The off-field issues continued with Elliott publicly arguing with a girlfriend and additional issues in 2021 when his dogs got loose and bit an individual, resulting in a lawsuit for over $1 million.

One of his more popular conduct issues came in 2020 when he did not realize he was still recording on the live stream application “Twitch” and he stated he was “lowkey faded” which is a slang term for being high on marijuana.

Elliott insisted it was due to alcohol consumption which isn’t much better.

The list goes on and on but it is clear over the years that Elliott is not maturing whether it was regarding domestic issues, personal conduct, or COVID restriction violations.

Plenty of other players in the league have off-field issues but it is usually limited to one or two issues if any. Elliott’s list is seemingly endless.

Elliott made it clear that even if his on-field play declined his off-field issues would continue. Some players cannot handle the money or fame that comes with their talent and Elliott should be counted among them.

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.