After a season of absence, Ezekiel Elliott should return to Dallas. The Cowboys and the veteran running back have agreed to terms on a contract, team sources said, and the team plans to sign him pending a physical.
Elliott, 28, spent the first seven seasons of his NFL career in Dallas — after the team selected him No. 4 overall in 2016 — before playing last year in New England.
With the Patriots, he recorded a career-high 642 rushing yards on a career-worst 3.5 yards per attempt, scoring three rushing touchdowns. But Elliott proved to be a reliable back behind Rhamondre Stevenson and stepped up when Stevenson suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 13, starting the final five games.
Elliott caught 51 passes, his most in a season since 2020.
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During resurgent season, Patriots’ Ezekiel Elliott showed he’s ‘still the Zeke of the good old days’
Elliott demonstrated his abilities quickly and fiercely in his first professional year with Dallas, scoring 15 touchdowns and leading the NFL in rushing yards (1,631) and carries (322). He had four 1,000-yard campaigns during his first stint in Dallas and never gave the team fewer than 875 yards in a season. Even then, during his least productive season in Dallas in 2022, Elliott scored 12 touchdowns, tying the second-best mark of his career.
He returns to a Dallas backroom that includes Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn and Royce Freeman.
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(Photo: Brian Fluharty / USA Today)