News: Should the Cowboys Seriously Consider Moving on From Ezekiel Elliott?

[OmerV]

Gee whiz guys, what would be the point of considering it if they weren't serious?

 

[Cowpolk]

No we do not move on

 

[Direwolf63]

Contract is such that you can't move on from Zeke for another couple of years.

Clearly he is not the players he was 4 years ago. Lost his explosiveness. He's a plodder now. But he can still be effective.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Seems I recall the same thing was said about McFadden over Murray, but then Murray had 1,845 yards McFadden followed that with 1,089 yards. Similar production at a lower price?
Hardly.

That's always been the case at Dallas, the back up gets lots of love - until he is the starter and doesn't do great, then HIS backup gets lots of love.

Never ends...

Completely self-defeating and bunk argument.

McFadden came in after three straight seasons of 3.3, 3.3, and 3.4 YPC in Oakland. He comes into Dallas with a then stellar offensive line and commenced to producing 1,000+ yards in just 10 starts with a 4.6 YPC.

AND......add to the fact he had the likes of Weeden, Cassel, and Moore playing at QB which didn’t benefit him in terms of keeping the defenses honest.

 

[J12B]

LMAO.. "he is running behind would be practice squad guys with bums at QB.." What's wrong with him? Anything for click bait I guess.

His 5 costly fumbles this year.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

LMAO.. "he is running behind would be practice squad guys with bums at QB.." What's wrong with him? Anything for click bait I guess.

Zeke has not been a top RB in...checks notes....YEARS.

We whould not pay him a dollar more than is currently guaranteed on his contract.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Same guys that say you should never give a RB a 2nd contract will tell you they'd take Alvin Kamara in a heartbeat (guy is on his second contract)...

Over Zeke? Yes. Would I have paid Alvin? No.

 

[kumizi]

Zero substance in that article. Just someone that googled basic stats.

Nothing about yards after contact, tackle broken percentage, etc etc

 

[garyv]

Never give a RB a second contract. In the modern NFL what backs have been productive at 29/30 years old? AP and Gore?That’s it. RBs is not a position championship teams build around anymore. There is a reason for it. The typical window for a great back is 4 years. Jerry was beyond stupid to give Zeke that deal. Layer in Zeke’s character issues and it is even worse.

I have been stating this for years and many posts here about it DRAFT A RB every 4 years NO second contracts at the RB spot.. There is no reason to tie those monies up at RB.
Yes I would eat the contract and move on from Elliott. Spend those monies in your OL

 

[T-RO]

You can argue he should have been traded as he held out.
You can argue he should not have been extended.
MUCH harder to argue we should pay 24.5M in dead cap fees to cut him now.
It is far cheaper to flip restructure his cap hit down and ride out the 2 years of overpay.

Zeke's cap hit next year can be about 6M.

OR you cut him, go find another RB(who can run, block, and catch) and eat 24.5M???
This isn't hard.
You extend him and eat his cap cost when the cap recovers from COVID in 2022 or 2023.

This. If Zeke is a serviceable player you have little choice but to keep him through next two seasons. I was so mad Jerry gave him that contract.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Should the Dallas Cowboys Seriously Consider Moving on From Ezekiel Elliott?
by Rick Thomas on December 8, 2020

The Dallas Cowboys are experiencing one of the worst seasons in franchise history. Through 11 games, they hold a dismal 3-8 record, with virtually no postseason hopes. Pundits are eager to assign blame, pointing fingers at everyone from owner Jerry Jones to coach Mike McCarthy. A significant number of commentators have also highlighted Ezekiel Elliott’s poor year.

Some analysts have even suggested that it’s time for the Cowboys to move on from their star running back. Let’s look at Elliott’s NFL career, his poor performance this year, and whether Dallas needs to consider letting him go.

Dallas selected Elliott with the fourth overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. At the time, he was considered among the best running back prospects of the last decade. Not only was he fast and strong, but he also had a preternatural gift for pulling down passes — and blocking opponents. Those high expectations proved totally justified during Elliott’s rookie year.

That season, he made 322 rushing attempts for 1,631 total yards (best in the NFL), with 15 touchdowns and 95 first downs. He compiled a whopping 108.7 rushing yards per game, while also catching 32 passes for 363 passing yards. His dominant season earned Elliott both Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro selections.

Elliott’s second season was marred by a six-game personal conduct violation. He bounced back in years three and four, racking up 1,434 and 1,457 rushing yards, respectively. The 2018 season also saw Elliott catch a career-high 77 passes, for 567 yards and an 81.1% catch percentage. Elliott earned his second and third Pro Bowl selections in those years, while once again leading the NFL in rushing yards in 2018.

Elliott‘s numbers this season have gone down significantly from his prior years. Through 11 games he has totaled just 707 rushing yards. He’s rushing for just 64.3 yards per game, down over 20 yards from his performance just last season. Meanwhile, he’s making just two less rushing attempts per game — not enough to account for such a big drop-off in performance.

Elliott’s yards per touch stat is also at a career-low at just 4.4 yards per touch, meaning he’s not making up for his lost rushing efficiency when it comes to receiving. That fact is borne out by Elliott’s 72.2% catch percentage, which is down significantly from his numbers in both 2018 and 2019. Meanwhile, Elliott has already fumbled the ball six times, which matches his career-worst total.

Read the rest of the story:

https://www.sportscasting.com/shoul...n-from-ezekiel-elliott/?ref=NEWSandRUMORS.com

No. Jerry will anoint him one of our best players and coddle him for 3 more years until Zero is so fat he waddles in last in line at the chimichanga buffet line in Cabo.
THAT is the Bizarro World we fans must live in until Jerry goes to heaven.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Jerry says don't worry gang. We were just unlucky. Everyone is gonna come back next year and take it way more seriously. Next year is our year to shine. At least thats what Jerry says.

And I believed Jerry for the first 20 years after the Jimmy era.

 

[jterrell]

This. If Zeke is a serviceable player you have little choice but to keep him through next two seasons. I was so mad Jerry gave him that contract.

Fair and true.
But that decision was basically made when they decided to draft Zeke.
It was pretty shocking tbh given they had been willing to move on from RBs like Murray and just draft the next guy in round 2-3.
You draft a guy at 4 though you want to get at least 6 years out of him.
All that said I'm sure they were scared of Ramsey at 4 given Mo Claiborne and all the off field/attitude stuff with Ramsey.

In all likelihood ALL Cowboys fans should just suck it up and root for Zeke to play his best ball for the next 18 months as he is likely here to stay that long.
His deal was written in a way that makes it real hard to cut him.

The agents have been winning in deals with Stephen of late.

 

[buybuydandavis]

You can argue he should have been traded as he held out.
You can argue he should not have been extended.
MUCH harder to argue we should pay 24.5M in dead cap fees to cut him now.
It is far cheaper to flip restructure his cap hit down and ride out the 2 years of overpay.

Zeke's cap hit next year can be about 6M.

OR you cut him, go find another RB(who can run, block, and catch) and eat 24.5M???
This isn't hard.
You extend him and eat his cap cost when the cap recovers from COVID in 2022 or 2023.

Dead cap is dead cap. Sunk cost. Shuffling it around between years is accounting. Throwing more poor value money at Zeke to kick some of that can down the road just makes the cap situation worse.

2021 is *already* guaranteed, but we have to guarantee 2022 to get it.

Basically, we get the next 2 years for the price of 2022. 12.4 total, so 6.2mil a year. Zeke's play *this* year would not justify that.

Under 4ypc and a fumbling machine. What part of that is worth 6.2mil/year?

For all those complaining about the oline, its run blocking has been ranked highly, and Pollard is 5.0ypc. The oline is not making Zeke fumble.

At some point, the excuses have to be checked versus reality. Zeke hasn't just been not elite this year, he's been a poor back.

I wouldn't have paid 6.2mil for what Zeke gave this year. Would you?

 

[buybuydandavis]

This. If Zeke is a serviceable player you have little choice but to keep him through next two seasons. I was so mad Jerry gave him that contract.

We are *not* stuck with Zeke.

Clear choice.
1) Guarantee his 2022 salary (12.4mil) in March to get him this year and next.
2) Trade/cut him.

What we saw this year was not even worth the 6.2mil per year half price it would cost to have Zeke for the next 2 years.

The fumbling gave him negative value. Even *if* he gets that under control in the next 2 years, I don't think his running is worth 6.2mil.

Run Pollard and another back.

That's what we *should* do. Doubt that we will. Doubt that Jerry will. He's not going to admit to the mistake of extending Zeke. At 6.2mil/year, a non-fumbling Zeke isn't *that* bad a value.

What will hurt is that it will keep us from spending anything at RB, and giving Pollard more snaps.

 

[bigE79]

Zeke couldn't hold Emmitts jock strap at this point. Its not even a comparison anymore.

Nor Tony's at any point.

 

[Big_D]

He should be gone already! This will be a problem moving forward. They'll continue to force feed him because of his paycheck while the owner continues to think about what a great RB he has. Rinse and repeat. The guy has zero home run ability.. None at all.

 

[armadillooutlaw]

Zeke's a good back, but the team is probably better off long-term without him when you look at salary.
Pollard paired with a modestly-priced RB in the price range of Mark Ingram or Latavis Murray would be more than fine behind a healthy OL.

 

[noshame]

Let me go to Cabo and think about this

 

[Steve007]

Should the Dallas Cowboys Seriously Consider Moving on From Ezekiel Elliott?
by Rick Thomas on December 8, 2020

The Dallas Cowboys are experiencing one of the worst seasons in franchise history. Through 11 games, they hold a dismal 3-8 record, with virtually no postseason hopes. Pundits are eager to assign blame, pointing fingers at everyone from owner Jerry Jones to coach Mike McCarthy. A significant number of commentators have also highlighted Ezekiel Elliott’s poor year.

Some analysts have even suggested that it’s time for the Cowboys to move on from their star running back. Let’s look at Elliott’s NFL career, his poor performance this year, and whether Dallas needs to consider letting him go.

Dallas selected Elliott with the fourth overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. At the time, he was considered among the best running back prospects of the last decade. Not only was he fast and strong, but he also had a preternatural gift for pulling down passes — and blocking opponents. Those high expectations proved totally justified during Elliott’s rookie year.

That season, he made 322 rushing attempts for 1,631 total yards (best in the NFL), with 15 touchdowns and 95 first downs. He compiled a whopping 108.7 rushing yards per game, while also catching 32 passes for 363 passing yards. His dominant season earned Elliott both Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro selections.

Elliott’s second season was marred by a six-game personal conduct violation. He bounced back in years three and four, racking up 1,434 and 1,457 rushing yards, respectively. The 2018 season also saw Elliott catch a career-high 77 passes, for 567 yards and an 81.1% catch percentage. Elliott earned his second and third Pro Bowl selections in those years, while once again leading the NFL in rushing yards in 2018.

Elliott‘s numbers this season have gone down significantly from his prior years. Through 11 games he has totaled just 707 rushing yards. He’s rushing for just 64.3 yards per game, down over 20 yards from his performance just last season. Meanwhile, he’s making just two less rushing attempts per game — not enough to account for such a big drop-off in performance.

Elliott’s yards per touch stat is also at a career-low at just 4.4 yards per touch, meaning he’s not making up for his lost rushing efficiency when it comes to receiving. That fact is borne out by Elliott’s 72.2% catch percentage, which is down significantly from his numbers in both 2018 and 2019. Meanwhile, Elliott has already fumbled the ball six times, which matches his career-worst total.

Read the rest of the story:

https://www.sportscasting.com/shoul...n-from-ezekiel-elliott/?ref=NEWSandRUMORS.com

If they can get something for him pull the trigger. They are too far from competing for a Superbowl. He will be too old if the Cowboys can ever build a championship team.