Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones certainly is not downplaying his interest in one player he knows very well.
Jones spoke at length on Friday about a possible reunion with veteran running back Ezekiel Elliott. Jones admitted that the two sides met prior to the NFL Draft, as had been previously reported.
Jones was happy to talk up Elliott, saying he was impressed with how the running back finished last season with New England and even suggesting he could be good enough to perform as a lead back.
“Yes,” Jones said when asked if Elliott was capable of operating as a starter, via Garrett Podell of CBS Sports. “We talked about this last night too: Is Zeke someone of interest? Yeah, he is someone of interest. I saw him play his last games with New England. I thought he played well enough to be a starter.”
The Cowboys have been linked to a possible pursuit of Elliott for a while. After losing Tony Pollard to free agency, there are opportunities in the Dallas backfield, as veteran Royce Freeman is the only addition so far. Elliott could still take a lot of those carries.
Elliott turns 29 in July, and finished 2023 with 265 rushing yards in his last six games as his workload increased. Jones seems legitimately interested in a reunion, so it would not be a surprise at this point.
Throughout draft weekend, there was as much talk about one of those former Cowboys—two-time rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott—as there was about any of the college prospects.
Now, the focus shifts to when Elliott might return to the franchise for which he gained 8,262 yards, third-most in club history, in seven seasons before being released in a cost-cutting move after the 2022 season.
“Anytime,” owner Jerry Jones said Saturday night, speaking generally about Elliott’s positive influence after saying a day earlier that he thought Elliott was still good enough to be a starter.
“I don’t want to get into that because I’m not sure what all we’re touching on here in terms of the rules,” Jones said. “Bottom line is that he’s a positive.”
Two of Dallas’ top three picks, and three of the eight, were offensive linemen, which were among the Cowboys’ biggest needs after losing two starters this offseason. Running back was another.
