Andrew Buller-Russ
On Monday, the Dallas Cowboys made a transaction to ensure Tony Pollard would remain with the team, placing the franchise tag on the backup running back. While Pollard seems like a sure bet to return to ‘America’s Team’ in 2023, Ezekiel Elliott is far from a sure thing.
While the Cowboys continue to run Elliott as the starter, Pollard’s effectiveness is hard to ignore.
| Ezekiel Elliott | Tony Pollard | |
| Age | 27 | 25 |
| Carries | 231 | 193 |
| YPC | 3.8 | 5.2 |
| Rush yards | 876 | 1,007 |
| TDs | 12 | 9 |
| Salary | $16.7M cap hit | $10.09M |
When the backup starts outproducing the starter, all while making much less money, there’s a problem. According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, it “would not be surprising” if the Cowboys decided to cut bait with Elliott this offseason.
If the Cowboys designated Elliott as a post-June-1 cap casualty, they would see a dead cap charge of just $5.8 million while saving $10.9M. Otherwise, cutting him outright incurs a penalty of $11.8M while saving just $4.8M next season.
Another option would be trying to trade the three-time Pro Bowl running back, but teams likely aren’t jumping at the idea of taking on the remaining four years and $52.9 million of his salary.
Yet, Jerry Jones doesn’t like the idea of letting Elliott walk free, preferring to keep the one-two punch of his Pro Bowl backfield. When you own the team, you can call the shots, and that appears to be what’s happening with Zeke.
Perhaps a more likely situation involves Elliott taking a bit of a pay cut or at least restructuring the six-year, $90 million contract he signed in 2019. With the Cowboys sitting $18 million over their spending limit for 2023, cap savings will have to come from somewhere.
Related: Bold predictions for 2023 NFL free agency: Destinations for more than 50 top players
