The Dallas Cowboys made the decision to basically ignore the running back position this offseason despite losing Tony Pollard in free agency. However, they did bring back an old friend, Ezekiel Elliott. As much as it was a head-scratcher considering Elliott is simply not the same guy anymore. nor did it boost the running back room to a high degree, the Cowboys wanted, or should I say Jerry Jones, to make the two-time rushing champion a part of their committee approach.

No matter how anyone felt, Elliott being back in Dallas made sense if they used him a certain way as in letting him be a short yardage and goal line type of guy to keep the chains moving and punch the ball in end zone. However, after two months of the season, Elliott isn’t even being used in those situations regularly, making his role a pretty useless one. On top of that, Elliott recently had a talk with the organization about his role or lack thereof, which led to him getting more carries than Rico Dowdle against the Detroit Lions although the latter was coming off of the best game of his career with 87 yards. After the bye week, Elliott would get the start against the San Francisco 49ers due to Dowdle being a late scratch because of being sick, but he only managed a pedestrian 34 yards on 10 carries. Then, things got even more messy around Elliott’s return.

Before the Cowboys took on the Atlanta Falcons, it was reported that Elliott and the team mutually agreed that he would miss the game due to disciplinary reasons. Come to find out, the situation had been boiling over as Elliott has exhibited habitual tardiness and has missed three team meetings with the one the Friday before the Falcons game pushing things over the edge. That was a complete shocker to everyone, considering that one of Elliott’s strengths has always been that he was a locker room guy, but this type of behavior is the complete opposite of that. Last week, the Cowboys took on the hated Philadelphia Eagles at home. Near the end of the second quarter, Dallas had a first-and-goal at the six-yard line in a 7-3 game. Elliott was given the opportunity to give the Cowboys the lead, but he fumbled the ball into the endzone for a touchback.

There’s quite a bit to unpack here, but none of it is positive. Not only is Elliott not performing well at what he was brought back to do, but he’s also not being a leader with how he’s handling preparation before game days. It’s just been a mess when it comes to Elliott and his reunion with the team. It’s clear that both sides need to part ways no matter how much Jerry Jones says he’s seen good things from Elliott. It’s a mystery as to what he’s talking about because Elliott is averaging a career-low 3.2 yards per rush.

Elliott will always have a positive legacy with the team given everything he gave to the franchise in his first run with the team. It’s just what he brings to the table now, and what the Cowboys need, just don’t match anymore.