Jerry Jones: Cowboys reunion with Ezekiel Elliott 'not ruled out at all'
On Monday, the NFL suspended Dallas Cowboys running back Ronald Jones for violating the league's performance-enhancing substance policy.
Not 24 hours later, Jerry Jones was talking about Ezekiel Elliott.
The Dallas Cowboys team owner and noted Zeke advocate was asked on his regular appearance on 105.3 The Fan Tuesday about the possibility of bringing Elliott back to Dallas. He called the query a "very legitimate question."
“We’re reading the tea leaves,” Jones said. “And so the events like yesterday, the suspension that’s involved, you can have injuries of varying degrees, and then you have the thing that everybody thinks of, and that’s how does it look?"
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Jones then waxed nostalgic about Elliott's bruising running style.
"You got the pads on yesterday for the first time," Jones continued. "It's hard to appreciate Zeke without pads, because that be his game. And when you put that pad on and you realize the collisions that can happen for you, just his protection and blocking, then all of a sudden you start thinking about the kind of things you'll ought to be thinking about when you're evaluating at camp."
He then proceeded to leave the door wide open for a reunion.
"He's not ruled out at all there,” Jones concluded.
So will Elliott's return to the NFL arrive with the only team he's ever played for?
Who knows?
Perhaps above all, Jones is a master of creating buzz around his beloved franchise. A Zeke/Cowboys reunion is an attention grabber, hence the existence of this article. Jones knows this.
At the same time, there's a legitimate opportunity in the Cowboys' backfield. Assuming he's fully recovered from the fractured fibula he sustained in the playoffs last season, Tony Pollard is the clear lead back for the first time in his career. But the depth chart behind Pollard is in flux.
The Cowboys signed Jones, a 25-year-old former starter for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, this offseason. Jones' future with the franchise is now in question after the NFL suspended him for the first two games of the season. Second-year running back Malik Davis and sixth-round rookie Deuce Vaughn are also on the depth chart behind Pollard. They're both relative unknowns this early in training camp.
Elliott is anything but an unknown. The 28-year-old former three-time Pro Bowler started 102 games over the past seven Cowboys seasons and was arguably the face of the franchise during his tenure. He saw his rushing average drop to a career-low 3.8 yards per carry last season. His $90 million contract became untenable, and the Cowboys released him.
Elliott remains a free agent in what can aptly be described as a difficult offseason for running backs. But Jones remains in his corner. Will it all add up to a new contract for Zeke?
