For the second time in three years, the Dallas Cowboys have released their No. 3 all-time rushing leader, Ezekiel Elliott. Justifying the decision, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones stated the team wanted to give Zeke “an opportunity to pursue any potential playoff participation possible” as they (7-9) were already out of the race this year.
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As a result, the Cowboys will now play their last game of the season against the Commanders on January 4 without the star RB’s presence. However, with Zeke underperforming this year, longtime Cowboys fan and analyst Skip Bayless explained why the #15 star moving from the team makes sense, in his reaction video.
“Ezekiel Elliott is gone now. He is gone for good from our Dallas Cowboys. No more of this, not ever. No more jumping into the Salvation Army kettle sometime before Christmas, because the truth is, once Jerry Jones paid Ezekiel Elliott after his third year with the Dallas Cowboys, Zeke jumped off the cliff for good. Never the same. He started to look washed then, and this year, he looked all-time washed to the point where I cringed every time he carried the ball, even in short-yardage goal-line situations.”
Skip’s criticism is backed by statistics. In the 2024 season, Zeke finished with 74 carries, 226 yards, and 3 touchdowns, with a dismal average of 3.1 yards per carry. In comparison, his fellow RB and now the Cowboys’ starting RB, Rico Dowdle, had 213 carries, 1,007 yards, and 1 touchdown, with an average of 4.7 yards per carry.
With Dowdle performing better in recent matchups (104 yards against the Eagles, 149 yards against the Cardinals), the spotlight was on Zeke, and in the end, Jerry decided to move on.
Meanwhile, Skip admitted he had never seen “anything quite like the rise and fall of Ezekiel Elliott” and added that Zeke made Dak Prescott an MVP contender in the 2016 season, which was his rookie year in the NFL.
“He finished third in MVP that year. Matt Ryan won it, Brady was second. But the Cowboys were 13-3 out of nowhere and had the number 1 seed in the NFC because of Ezekiel Elliott, number 21. Lord have mercy. What a year he had as a rookie.”
Notably, it was Zeke who requested the release because of the lack of playing time in the 2024 season. Additionally, Zeke missing the Week 9 matchup against the Falcons for disciplinary reasons suggests that all was not well between him and the Dallas Cowboys, which perhaps accelerated the decision.
With Zeke’s departure, it remains to be seen whether playoff participants like the Los Angeles Chargers or Houston Texans, or any surprise teams, express interest in the 29-year-old weapon.
