If Cowboys are a serious franchise, there's an obvious roster cut they've got to make now
The Dallas Cowboys are often accused of not being a "serious" franchise. The reasons range from accusations of fan tours as The Star being a distraction to players, Jerry Jones' constant media shenanigans, all the way to free agency spending and team building. In 2024, the Cowboys were once again accused of it when they signed […]
The Dallas Cowboys are often accused of not being a "serious" franchise. The reasons range from accusations of fan tours as The Star being a distraction to players, Jerry Jones' constant media shenanigans, all the way to free agency spending and team building.
In 2024, the Cowboys were once again accused of it when they signed Ezekiel Elliott as one of their two outside free agent additions in March. Elliott, who had been struggling for a few seasons by then, was seen as a signing that took place pretty much only because the team was familiar with him and really appreciated him as a person. From the start, there were concerns about the team perceiving him as RB1. The Cowboys even described him as a player who boosts morale in the locker room.
Fast forward to today, and Elliott just missed a game as punishment from the coaching staff because of a lack of commitment to the team. As Jane Slater from NFL Network put it, Elliott has been distracted most season, reporting that "aside from habitual tardiness, he’s missed three team meetings with Friday’s meeting the final straw."
I'll just cut to the chase here: Why is Elliott still on the team if that's the case?
There's just nothing to justify it. If Zeke was picking first downs left and right and averaging more than 4.5 yards per attempt, you could argue the off-field issues are worth it.
But the former No. 4 overall pick hasn't been himself in a long time. He's averaging 3.1 yards per attempt, a career low following two other seasons' average under four yards. He's not finding explosive rushes and anytime the Cowboys front office is asked about Zeke, it seems like all we get is ambiguous praise for him like how physical he is. Jerry Jones recently called his style of practicing "inspirational."
When Elliott was getting first-team reps and being unfairly treated as RB1, fans and media members accused the Cowboys' front office and coaching staff of mismanaging the RB room because they "like" Elliott. He got preseason rest while Rico Dowdle didn't despite being the better player. In Week 1, it was Zeke getting reps over Dowdle in Cleveland. After Dowdle's dominant performance in Pittsburgh, one week later Elliott was getting the majority of the first quarter reps over him.
Allowing Elliott to be "habitually" late while missing team meetings is just unacceptable and a terrible message to the locker room. Moving on is the obvious course the Cowboys should be taking here and not doing so will do little to erase the "preferred treatment" allegations that have been thrown the front office's way since they signed him back in March.
