Judging by Mike McCarthy’s responses to questions about Ezekiel Elliott being released, it sounds like it was Jerry Jones’ decision to grant Elliott the opportunity to join the roster of a playoff team.
“It was a conversation that he asked for the opportunity to move forward,” McCarthy said Wednesday. “I think that’s clearly what’s in front of him. … We started this journey at the running back position looking to potentially be a running back-by-committee, and Rico (Dowdle) clearly took the lead position and he’s ended up having a pretty productive year.”
Dowdle has unquestionably been Dallas’ best back this season, rushing for 1,007 yards while averaging 4.7 yards per carry. Elliott totaled only 226 yards on 3.1 yards per carry.
Past 5 games: Dowdle vs. Elliott
| WEEK | OPPONENT | DOWDLE | ELLIOTT |
|---|---|---|---|
|
17 |
23-104 (4.5 ypc) |
3-2 (0.7) |
|
|
16 |
13-23 (1.8) |
1-1 (1.0) |
|
|
15 |
25-149 (6.0) |
9-30 (3.3) |
|
|
14 |
18-131 (7.3) |
2-4 (2.0) |
|
|
13 |
22-112 (5.1) |
1-4 (4.0) |
|
|
101-519 (5.1) |
16-41 (2.5) |
Why give Elliott the opportunity to sign elsewhere?
“Really I think Jerry said it best,” McCarthy responded, “Zeke’s success here and he felt like he earned this opportunity upon his request.”
Elliott cleared waivers without another team claiming him, so he is now a free agent.
Who do the fans want?
That answer seems pretty clear. A recent poll with more than 6,000 votes shows that just over 64 percent of Cowboys fans would like to see Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as the team’s next head coach. Johnson is expected to be the most popular name in the upcoming coaching cycle. But would the Cowboys have serious interest?
Jones has given no indication that he’s going to go in another direction after the season is over on Sunday. It’s still possible that they work out a contract extension with McCarthy. Johnson has no previous head coaching experience, which could be a deal-breaker for Jones. Obviously most fans have no issue with that. Jason Garrett had no prior head coaching experience before becoming Dallas’ interim head coach in 2010. He then held that job for the next nine seasons.
Who would you most like to see coaching the Dallas Cowboys in 2025?
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) December 31, 2024
Roster construction
The Philadelphia Eagles have been one of the NFL’s most aggressive roster builders for several years now under general manager Howie Roseman. Many wonder why the Cowboys aren’t as aggressive. With Dallas coming off a 41-7 loss at Philadelphia on Sunday, Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones shared their thoughts this week on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on their roster construction versus the Eagles’ roster construction.
“I’ll say it again, it’s the world’s smallest violin, but unfortunately we have over 50 percent of our cap on (injured reserve),” Stephen Jones said. “Those things, when they hit and hit at the wrong time, it makes for a challenge for a team. Obviously, San Francisco is another team that’s had their share of injuries this year in terms of a big percentage of their cap sitting on IR. Those are things that come with the territory.
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“I know everybody has their different battles with the cap that hit at different times. Philly will have theirs coming up where they’ll have to make tough decisions. But, yeah, we’re constantly looking at ways to look at our salary cap to give us the best opportunity with players like Dak (Prescott), CeeDee (Lamb) and Micah (Parsons), and you throw (Trevon) Diggs in there, to let those guys hopefully, No. 1, stay on the field, but No. 2, give us the best opportunity to make a great run.”
Jerry Jones said he closely monitors the way all 31 other teams construct their rosters.
“They’ve really spent some money to put this team together, and they’ve spent some cap,” he said of the Eagles. “This is a good time for them to hit it because they have a lot invested in this team.
“I for sure make comparisons with the cap status (of other teams) around the league with where they’ve got room to grow the cap. … I do that all the time. I observe every club very carefully. I obviously look that over and apply it to us and where we spend our money. … That’s why we (signed Prescott and Lamb) this year. We knew they were cornerstones of now and in the future.”
Pro Bowl
The Pro Bowl rosters were announced Thursday morning. Dallas had five players on the initial roster: Lamb, Parsons, LG Tyler Smith, K Brandon Aubrey and KR/PR KaVontae Turpin. That number seems about right. The Cowboys had 10 Pro Bowlers last season. Injuries prevented them from getting anywhere close to that number again — those 10 have combined to miss 49 games this season. Prescott, RG Zack Martin, DE DeMarcus Lawrence, CB DaRon Bland and CB Trevon Diggs have all made previous Pro Bowls but missed time because of injuries this year.
(Top photo of Ezekiel Elliott: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
