Ezekiel Elliott’s rocky second stint with the Dallas Cowboys ended with one game left in the 2024 regular season. The Cowboys cut their star running back in January, not for disciplinary reasons or cap relief, but purely as a gesture of respect.
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“Out of respect and appreciation for Zeke and wanting to provide him with an opportunity to pursue any potential playoff participation possible, we are releasing him from the Cowboys roster today,” team owner Jerry Jones said via a heartfelt statement at the time.
It was Elliott’s second release from the franchise in just three years. What many didn’t see coming was that his Cowboys exit could also be his last rodeo in the NFL. It’s been more than six months since Elliott became a free agent, but even as training camps ramp up across the league, he’s still without a team.
At 29 years old, the three-time Pro Bowler finds himself in free-agency limbo, with no reported interest as of mid-July. That’s why Elliott is reportedly contemplating retirement.
However, there’s one major milestone within reach that can make his decision feel anything but final: 10,000 career rushing yards.
Currently sitting at 9,130 rushing yards, good for 40th all-time, Elliott is just 870 yards away from joining one of the NFL’s most exclusive clubs. Only 32 running backs in league history have crossed the 10,000-yard threshold.
The top five in the list are bona fide legends of the game: Emmitt Smith (18,355), Walter Payton (16,726), Frank Gore (16,000), Barry Sanders (15,269), and Adrian Peterson (14,918).
Making the 10k rushing yards list is a great incentive to keep going for Elliott. But one might wonder if things would be different now had he taken that incentive to heart much earlier.
He was a back who once led the league in rushing (2016, 2018) and posted 30 100-yard games for the Cowboys. The numbers speak of a stellar career. But recent seasons haven’t done him any favors.
After a modest stint with the New England Patriots in 2023, Elliott rejoined Dallas in 2024 on a one-year deal with incentives that could’ve earned him up to $3 million. But he fell well short of that sum.
Appearing in a limited role behind Rico Dowdle, Elliott managed just 74 carries for 226 yards (3.1 YPC) and three touchdowns last season. He didn’t top 40 rushing yards in a single game and failed to register a run longer than 11 yards. At one point, he was even deactivated for missing team meetings.
Still, when he scored in Week 16, it marked his 71st rushing touchdown as a Cowboy. He trails only Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith (153) and Tony Dorsett (72) in franchise history.
But even that pedigree hasn’t helped him find a landing spot. With teams prioritizing younger, more versatile backs and rosters mostly set, the market has gone cold. Moreover, with Elliott now rumored to be mulling retirement, the window to hit 10,000 yards could be closing fast.
Elliott’s agent, Rocky Arceneaux, summed his intentions up best: “He’s got a lot of good football left in him and will remain a Dallas Cowboy for life.”
But unless a playoff hopeful picks up the phone soon, Elliott might fall just short of the milestone that would have cemented his place alongside the game’s all-time greats.
