Safe to say, it hasn’t fully been the warm welcome home Ezekiel Elliott would have wanted.
Without a doubt, there were a few years where Zeke (behind one of the best offensive lines in history) put up some serious numbers, but it’s safe to say that his career has taken a downturn of late.
On one hand, it’s expected. The average lifespan of a running back in the NFL is something like 3 years, so the fact that he’s still a somewhat sought after player heading into his 9th season is an accomplishment in itself. However, news broke today that Zeke was going to reunite with the Dallas Cowboys after playing last year in New England and it’s been met with mixed reactions.
For starters, Dallas released Tony Pollard early in the offseason. Many fans expected him to take a big step up in his first season as RB1 after backing up Zeke for the first 4 seasons, and while he did post his second consecutive 1,000 yard season, it wasn’t enough to impress the front office or the fan base.
That left the Cowboys with some less than stellar backs on the roster.
Everyone loves the video of Deuce Vaughn being drafted in part by his father, Chris, who is the team’s assistant director of college scouting, but few believe he’s going to be able to handle the workload of an NFL season by himself.
Also in the running back room is Rico Dowdle, Royce Freeman, and Snoop Conner, and while I can’t speak for their on-field talent, it’s safe to say there’s not a whole lot of name recognition in the bunch (though some fans really think Freeman is a diamond in the rough).
In the lead up to the NFL Draft, Cowboys fans were hoping for the team to pick up a solid running back or make a deal to bring one in, but April 27th is now in the rearview and all the team has done is sign undrafted free agent Nate Peat out of Missouri to bolster the position.
Well, that was until earlier today when it was announced that the Cowboys were bringing back Ezekiel Elliott on a 1 year, $3 million deal.
The biggest question is always “How are Cowboys fans reacting?” given their history of antics, and the signing of “washed up” Ezekiel Elliott has brought out the worst (and funniest) in some of the fanbase…
Of course, there’s a lot of people who make the point that he played behind a less than stellar offensive line his last few seasons wearing the star and the Patriots were a dumpster fire last year so you can’t really judge his abilities based off that, and I do see their point, but also let’s be honest… If the Cowboys really thought he was still a game changer they wouldn’t have gotten rid of him a season ago.
Personally, I think Zeke belongs in a Cowboys uniform for the rest of his career, simply because it increases the odds that “THIS IS THE BOYZ YEAR” will never be a true statement.
Although I do have to say, Prime Zeke highlights are a heck of a watch…
