Hard to believe this is actually a conversation piece at this point, but no, the Philadelphia Eagles do not need to add Ezekiel Elliott to their roster.

Not only does a veteran like Zeke cut into an already-tight pool of money for the rest of free agency, but it is also worth noting that this signing would do little to up the quality of the run game as a whole.

There are just better options out there.

Plus, there might be better options that didn't also play for the Dallas Cowboys.

Philly fans can be brutal, and the news coming out that Elliott has the Eagles in his final list of teams that he would like to play for is surprising based on his years getting screamed at while wearing a Cowboys jersey.

Cowboys’ RB Ezekiel Elliott has narrowed down his options about where to play to the Eagles, Jets and Bengals, and he would like to make his decision about where to sign by the end of next week, per sources.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 23, 2023

Either way, there are still plenty of reasons to say this is a bad signing outside of the bias that comes from being rivals.

On the money end, giving Elliott a major contract is one of the worst moves the Dallas Cowboys have ever made. Watching Zeke degrade as he made more money must've been quite funny for Eagles fans, and Dallas did itself no favors in constructing a deal that was very hard to end.

The Cowboys ended up having to let plenty of talented free agents walk while Elliott was outplayed by the much cheaper Tony Pollard.

While the Eagles won't give Elliott anything close to what the Cowboys did a few years ago, Elliott is still a worse value option relative to price and performance than almost every player in the draft.

The Eagles can get more for less with a Day Three pick in the draft.

On the play end, Elliott is a shadow of what he once was. Tony Pollard was the far superior back for the Cowboys for the last two years now, and Elliott would just be another way of stifling development of the other players if he signed with the Eagles.

Flashes still occur in his game from time to time, but it is fair to say that Ezekiel Elliott is still living off the success of his incredible start to his NFL career. That just isn't enough.

There are plenty of backs out there that can eat up cap space while giving you 3.8 yards per carry. The Eagles need to look elsewhere if they really want to get better this offseason.