Owner Jerry Jones refuses to close the door on the possibility of a Ezekiel Elliott return to the Dallas Cowboys for 2023.
But he says the decision to release the two-time NFL rushing champion, who finished as the team’s third all-time leading rusher and touchdown scorer, after seven years with franchise was the right one for the franchise.
And the Cowboys are better for it on the field and on the salary cap, which proved to be the over riding factor
It was all about making the adjustment principally because of the cap because of where we were,” Jones said at the NFL Owner’s Meetings at the Arizona Biltmore. “Love to have him. But again, with what we need to do to make our cap work and what we can do to really, in our mind, improve through scheme or another player, that was worth us saving that money on the cap.”
Elliott was set to count $16.7 million against the salary cap with a $10.9 million non-guaranteed base salary in 2023. And that number would not stand after the team gave Tony Pollard the franchise tag, guaranteeing $10.1 million in 2023.
