Ezekiel Elliott gets the people talking around the Dallas Cowboys as much as any player does. After leading the NFL in rushing twice (2016, 2018) and being tops in yards per game in 2017 (98.3), Elliott has seen his production take a dip over the last several years.

Circumstances like the Cowboys' offensive lone not being what it used to be and the sometimes vanilla play-calling of Kellen Moore has certainly played a factor in that. However, a lot of folks in the media and fans of the Cowboys think it's time for the organization to move on from Elliott.

Cowboys' executive vice president Stephen Jones isn't of that mindset and though and he recently endorse the two-time rushing champion.

"I want Zeke on my team," Jones said, via ESPN's Todd Archer. "You talk about playing through some injuries and things that are hard. I mean, he is a competitor. I think he is a damn good running back. I think he's going to help us win this year."

Elliott showed encouraging signs at the beginning of the 2021 season after working on his elusiveness and explosiveness with running back guru Josh Hicks, a local trainer. He was third in the NFL with 452 rushing yards and had to games over 100 in the first five weeks. Unfortunately, Elliott suffered a torn PCL in Week 4, and he hobbled his way to 1,000 yards in a gallant effort and didn't miss a game.

While Elliott's never-say-die approach was commendable, many feel the Cowboys still need to cut bait with him. However, that isn't so easy to do considering his $12.4 million base salary became fully guaranteed last March, which Jones pointed out while again praising Elliott.

"Obviously his contract, his money is guaranteed, he's going to be here. There's no question. So, and we're fortunate to have him."

The Cowboys parting ways from Elliott wouldn't make sense financially. If the Cowboys release Elliott before June 1 they will be hit with $30 million in dead money and love around $12 million towards the 2022 salary cap. Releasing Ezekiel Elliott after that date, the Cowboys would break even against the cap but still take on a dead money hit of $18.2 million.

There is the trade option when it comes to Elliott also. Doing so before June 1 would net just $540,000 in cap savings and have a $17.7 million dead money hit attached to it. Performing this move after said date drops the dead money hit to $5.82 million and the cap savings would be $12.4 million.

Dallas can nearly get that much cap relief by pulling one trigger though, restructuring Elliott's deal. If done, the Cowboys would gain $9.1 million in cap dollars. In addition, the Cowboys can save another $39 million by restructuring the deals of Dak Prescott, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Amari Cooper.

That's potentially $48 million in cap saving for the Cowboys which dif them out of the $21 million hole they are in when it comes to the cap for next season. This would also allow the Cowboys to keep their core players together and have money to re-sign in-house free agents like Randy Gregory and Jayron Kearse, which has been the Cowboys' philosophy for quite some time.

Ezekiel Elliott isn't going anywhere, and with a full offseason to get healthy and hopefully better offensive line play in 2022, he will look more like the guy who came out guns blazing last season before his injury.

Feature image via Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports