Will Ezekiel Elliott's tenure with the Dallas Cowboys end in 2022?

Over the previous six seasons, there have not been many greater outstanding or prolific gamers for the Dallas Cowboys than going for walks returned Ezekiel Elliott. Since the Cowboys took the former Ohio State big name with the fourth common choose in 2016, Elliott has received 7,386 yards on the ground. He has topped 1,000 dashing yards 4 times—including ultimate year. He has led the league in dashing twice. Been named to three Pro Bowls. And scored sixty-eight complete touchdowns.

 

With the exception of quarterback Dak Prescott, Elliott has been as lots the face of the franchise as anyone. He's a superstar.

 

But the lifestyles of a going for walks returned to the NFL can be a harsh one. All those yards have taken a toll on the 27-year-old. His lofty earnings are taking a toll on the Cowboys' earnings cap. And as Elliott receives prepared for his seventh season in Dallas, there may be a very actual hazard this Cowboy will be long past come spring.

 

Now, you might not hear the Cowboys speaking about Elliott's days in Dallas being numbered. While speakme to newshounds at education camp, crew proprietor Jerry Jones informed newshounds that whilst Dallas wants to get fellow walking lower back Tony Pollard extra worried offensively, Elliott stays the straw that stirs the drink for the Cowboys in the backfield:

 

“We gotta have Tony Pollard out there. No, seriously, Zeke's gotta be our feature, and he is our feature. We can function him in a lot of distinctive ways. We all apprehend what he does in the passing sport due to the fact of his safety ability. Don't ever underestimate that, in particular with Zeke. Zeke takes some tolls when he is out there as a returned blocking. So it is crucial that we make Zeke – due to the fact he is successful of being that – truly the focal point of what we're doing. Now then, Pollard, there is lots of room for Pollard. There are masses of room for Pollard when Zeke's in there. Pollard wants to get the ball.”

 

It's real that Elliott is one of the pleasant pass-blocking backs in the NFL. And he bought his on the floor closing yr as well—Elliott's 1,002 dashing yards ranked seventh in the league. He scored 10 touchdowns on the ground, caught the ninth-most passes (47) amongst strolling backs, and helped electricity the Cowboys to 12 wins and an NFC East title.

 

Per the team's website, Elliott stated he expects the floor recreation to be the offense's catalyst this season.

 

“If we can run the ball effectively and manipulate the line of scrimmage, we will be that an awful lot higher of an offense,” Zeke said. “That's the kind of tone I attempt to set each time I step on the field, period.”

 

That's all nicely and good. In fact, Elliott can also properly be right; with extensive receiver Amari Cooper long gone and fellow wideouts Michael Gallup and James Washington set to pass over time to open the season, Prescott and the Cowboys can also have to lean on Elliott and the floor recreation even greater than regular this season.

 

But a heavier workload for Elliott in 2022 would simply be one greater purpose to cross on in the offseason.

 

The first purpose is a huge black cloud looming over the franchise: Elliott's abomination of a contract.

 

In 2019, the Cowboys signed Elliott to a large six-year, $90 million contract extension. Even some three years later, it stays the biggest pact for a participant at his role with the aid of $15 million over New Orleans Saints going for walks again Alvin Kamara. His $15 million common annual revenue is tied with Kamara for the second-highest in the league amongst backs. The $28 million and exchange in ensures trails solely Christian McCaffrey of the Carolina Panthers and Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants. After restructuring the deal to assist create cap space, Elliott incorporates a remarkable $18.2 million cap hit for 2022.

 

That's a cap-wrecking wide variety for a jogging back. There are some positions the place most groups finances for huge deals. Quarterbacks make a fortune. So do elite cornerbacks, edge-rushers and offensive tackles. But extra groups than no longer appear to preserve expenses low at going for walks back. The cash going to Elliott is cash that cannot be used to entice different gamers or re-up Dallas' own. It's a section of the cause Cooper used to be dumped in the offseason.

 

Elliott's cap hit in 2023 is not a good deal better—$16.7 million. But the place $12.4 million of his 2022 cash is guaranteed, none of subsequent year's is. Dallas ought to shave over $10 million off the cap by using pronouncing goodbye to Elliott in the offseason.

 

That's infrequently a country secret, however Elliott advised journalists closing month that he is targeted on the upcoming season and now not what comes after it:

 

“I assume it is a large season, however I assume you cannot appear to some distance down the road. I suppose if I focal point on each day, if I center of attention on having a accurate day of camp, if I focal point on taking it week by way of week, I suppose the whole thing will cope with itself. And I do not suppose there is truly a cause to seem that, some distance down the road. I assume if I deal with my commercial enterprise each day, then I'll be in a fantastically exact scenario at the stop of the season.”

 

The hassle with that assertion is that whilst Elliott can also nonetheless cope with his business, he would not do so as properly as he as soon as did.

 

In his rookie season, Elliott led the league in consists of with 322, paced the NFL in dashing with 1,631 yards and ranked fifth amongst all jogging backs with over a hundred tries at 5.1 yards per carry. In 2018, he once more led the league in tries (304) and dashing yards (1,434) however averaged 4.7 yards a carry—17th in the league.

 

Fast-forward to 2021, and whilst Elliott obtained previous the 1,000-yard mark, it was once simply barely. He averaged simply 4.2 yards per lift final season—28th in the NFL.

 

As a rookie, Elliott received 108.7 yards per recreation on the ground—tops in the league. That quantity has seeing that dropped every and each year. Last year, it used to be down to 58.9 yards per game—17th in the NFL.

 

This is not to say that Elliott isn't always nevertheless an excellent jogging back. But he hasn't performed like a high-quality going for walks returned the previous couple of years. It appears like 1,938 profession touches and all these pass-pro reps have taken a toll. Elliott simply hasn't displayed the explosiveness in the latest seasons that he possessed in the past years.

 

Add in that Dallas additionally has to make a choice on whether or not to re-sign Pollard, who is youthful and averaged 1.3 greater yards per lift in his first season with 1,000 whole yards in 2021, and simply about each signal factors to this being the cease of the line for Elliott in Dallas.

 

Maybe it might not be. Maybe Elliott will be amenable to a pay reduce to remain with his chum from the classification of 2016. But it's no longer likely.

 

The Cowboys badly want all the cap area they can get, with extensions for the likes of CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons coming. The crew has a substitute returned already on the roster in Pollard. And as tremendous as Elliott has been, he is now not the participant he as soon as was.

 

This trip is all, however, clearly coming to an end. Like it or not, after the 2022 season, Ezekiel Elliott is going to trip off into the sunset.