{"id":11121,"date":"2024-12-15T08:20:57","date_gmt":"2024-12-15T08:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11121"},"modified":"2024-12-15T08:20:57","modified_gmt":"2024-12-15T08:20:57","slug":"breaking-cowboys-expected-to-cut-ties-with-former-90-million-star-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11121","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Cowboys Expected to Cut Ties With Former $90 Million Star."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Heavy-on-Cowboys-19.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Heavy-on-Cowboys-19.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Heavy-on-Cowboys-19.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Heavy-on-Cowboys-19.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Ezekiel Elliott\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-dom-ready-time=\"170\" data-img-load-time=\"182\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Heavy on Cowboys<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">The Dallas Cowboys could move on from Ezekiel Elliott.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>It is no secret that\u00a0Ezekiel Elliott\u2019s\u00a0reunion tour with the\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0has not gone exactly as planned. Elliott has made a minimal impact on the Cowboys offense as\u00a0Rico Dowdle\u00a0has a firm grip on the RB1 role.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-4\"><\/div>\n<p>ESPN\u2019s Bill Barnwell\u00a0believes Elliott\u2019s time in Dallas may be done for good at season\u2019s end. Elliott will be a free agent this offseason, and the analyst believes the franchise will move on from the three-time Pro Bowler as well as linebacker Eric Kendricks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEzekiel Elliott has been a replacement-level back and has seen his yards per carry fall for the fourth consecutive season,\u201d Barnwell wrote in a December 12, 2024, story titled, \u201cOffseason moves to fix the 49ers, Bengals, Cowboys and Jets.\u201d \u201c\u2026 Eric Kendricks excelled under Zimmer in Minnesota and was a great player for a long time, but he\u2019s not an NFL-caliber linebacker anymore. Teams exploit his lack of range on a weekly basis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Cowboys have to upgrade those spots. So Elliott and Kendricks, the two veteran free agents they signed during their all-in spring, probably are going to move on. Zimmer\u2019s tenure with the team will also likely end after one season.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>The Cowboys Face Decisions on Both Rico Dowdle &amp; Ezekiel Elliott Who Are Both Headed to NFL Free Agency<\/h2>\n<p>Elliott previously signed a six-year,\u00a0$90 million contract\u00a0with Dallas during his first stint with the franchise. The deal was slated to go through the 2026 season before Dallas released the star in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>After one season with the New England Patriots, Elliott returned to Dallas on a one-year, $2 million contract in 2024. It is not just Elliott who the Cowboys face a decision about as Dowdle will also be a free agent.<\/p>\n<p>The running back has likely played his way into a raise from his current one-year,\u00a0$1.2 million deal. It will be worth watching to see if the Cowboys attempt to re-sign Dowdle or completely revamp the position group.<\/p>\n<p>Heading into Week 15, Dowdle has posted 152 carries for 731 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. Dowdle has also added 33 receptions for 205 yards and 3 TDs through the air.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Ezekiel Elliott Was Suspended by the Cowboys Earlier This Season<\/h2>\n<p>Elliott has 61 carries for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns while averaging a career-low 3.2 yards per carry. Beyond his underwhelming production, Elliott has been at odds with the team at various points this season. Things came to a head when the\u00a0Cowboys suspended\u00a0Elliott from playing against the Atlanta Falcons on November 3.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEzekiel Elliott not traveling with the Cowboys for disciplinary reasons has been building for some time within the team, source tells me,\u201d\u00a0CBS Sports\u2019 Jonathan Jones detailed in a November 2, message on X. \u201cIt was in everyone\u2019s best interest he not accompany the team this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Cowboys continue to be floated as a potential landing spot for Boise State Broncos star running back Ashton Jeanty in the 2025 NFL draft.\u00a0CBS Sports\u2019 Ryan Wilson\u00a0has Dallas snagging Jeanty with the No. 12 pick in his latest mock draft.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs Ashton Jeanty a luxury pick? That depends; were Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs luxury picks?\u201d Wilson pondered on December 9. \u201cBecause Jeanty is that type of impact back. He hasn\u2019t been used nearly as much in the pass game, but that doesn\u2019t mean he can\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Heavy on Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys could move on from Ezekiel Elliott. It is no secret that\u00a0Ezekiel Elliott\u2019s\u00a0reunion tour with the\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0has not gone exactly as planned&#8230;. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Cowboys Expected to Cut Ties With Former $90 Million Star. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=11121\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Cowboys Expected to Cut Ties With Former $90 Million Star. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Heavy on Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys could move on from Ezekiel Elliott. 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