Dak Prescott 'excited' for Ezekiel Elliott's next step in NFL career

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott worked out with now-former teammate Ezekiel Elliott Wednesday morning. The running back still is looking for a team. The QB says his friend will find one.

Prescott offered this update: Elliott looks great. If you think about it, he’s needed to stay in peak condition all off-season, knowing that any day a coach or general manager could call. Both are excited about whatever Elliott’s future has in store for him.

But as the days tick down, more tailbacks are on the free-agent market. And those numbers could grow, depending on what happens with the July 17 deadline for teams reaching deals with franchise-tagged players.

“All those guys are dynamic backs, still have a lot left in the tank,” Prescott said during an appearance at SMU. “Never surprised by what this league does. It’s a business.”

Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott joined Cowboys in 2016

Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott have been friends since April 2016. That’s when the Cowboys selected Elliott, the former Ohio State star, with the sixth pick of the first round. On the draft’s second day, Dallas picked Prescott, the standout from Mississippi State, in the fourth round.

“That’s my best friend,” Prescott said. “We’ll continue to work, continue to push each other. He looks great. I’m excited for whatever opportunity he has coming up, and I’m always his biggest fan.”

Both players’ careers were intertwined until this past March. Then Cowboys owner Jerry Jones cut Elliott for financial reasons. Sides had renegotiated his contract back in 2019 after Elliott had led the NFL in rushing in 2016 and 2018. Dallas extended his deal by six years and $90 million. However, Elliott’s production dropped and Jones indicated the Cowboys could no longer afford to pay a second-team tailback that much money. Instead, Dallas stuck the franchise tag on Tony Pollard.

Zeke needs to keep eye on Dalvin Cook, possibly Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs

And now the free agent running back market is getting crowded. The Vikings released Dalvin Cook earlier this month. Josh Jacobs, who won the NFL rushing title with the Raiders, is dissatisfied with getting the franchise tag and the one-year $10.01 million deal. He’s skipped all the Raiders OTAs and last week’s mini-camp.

Up in New York, Saquon Barkley also is at an impasse with the Giants. The team also gave Barkley the franchise marker. And sides are trying to negotiate a new deal. We’ll all know a lot more, July 17th.

At least one NFL insider believes there’s chance that Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott will be on the same team this fall. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network talked about the Elliott situation on NFL Total Access.

“I remember Jerry Jones leaving the door open to a potential return to Dallas for Ezekiel Elliott,” Garafolo said. “And Mike McCarthy was recently asked about Zeke’s release and he called it, quote, ‘Capanomics,’ meaning it had more to do with the financials than what they think of Ezekiel Elliott as a running back.

“Dallas still believes that he’s got football left. Now, he’s not going to be the lead back there obviously if he does return there. And there’s not really a bunch of teams beating down his door to give him a lot of money.”

Elliott was supposed to make $10.4 million this fall. The latest buzz has the tailback signing with the Patriots at far less money. We’ll know more in mid-July, when it’s a guarantee there will be a flurry of activity before camps start.