Ezekiel Elliott departs from Dallas.
The Cowboys cut ties with the veteran running back on Tuesday following Elliott's request for release, the team announced.
“Out of respect and gratitude for Zeke, and in our desire to provide him with an opportunity to pursue a potential playoff berth, today we have removed him from the Cowboys roster,” team owner Jerry Jones said in a statement. I decided to remove it.” As we have said many times before, Zeke's influence as one of the greatest players to ever play with a star on his helmet will never change and will forever be etched in our record books and history. It will be. We thank him, love him and wish him the best. ”
Elliott, 29, returned to the Cowboys this season after spending one season with the Patriots, rushing for 226 yards and three touchdowns on 74 attempts.
The Ohio State product was selected fourth overall by Dallas in the 2016 NFL Draft.
From 2016, his first stint with the Cowboys, to 2022, Elliott appeared in three Pro Bowls and ran for 8,262 yards, second-most in the NFL during that span, and totaled 80 touchdowns (third-most). was recorded.
Elliott's second stint on America's Team similarly fell short.
In October, it was reported that Elliott was “stunned by his lack of playing time” after appearing in just 108 snaps in Dallas' first five games of the 2024 season.
Less than a month later, Elliott was benched during a game against the Falcons for disciplinary reasons after missing team meetings and being repeatedly late.
As the season progressed, fourth-year running back Rico Doodle took on the bulk of the carries in the Cowboys' backfield, rushing for over 100 yards in four of the team's last five games.
Elliott will become a free agent if he clears waivers, possibly joining a playoff team in need of a ball carrier heading into the postseason.
