After a single season away from the team, the Dallas Cowboys have brought their former first-round draft pick Ezekiel Elliott back to Texas.
The team have confirmed that they have re-signed the 28-year-old, who they drafted with the fourth overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft.
After seven seasons with the Cowboys that saw Elliott named to three Pro Bowls and win the rushing title twice, the running back signed for the New England Patriots in free agency last year.
He would rush for 642 yards on 184 attempts for the Pats, who limped to a 4-13 finish, but now finds himself back where it all began after putting pen to paper on a one-year deal that ESPN report has a maximum value of $3million.
"We are keenly interested in seeing what the future might look like with Zeke," owner Jerry Jones told the team’s website.
The signing comes after the Cowboys failed to draft a running back in last week’s NFL Draft, despite head coach Mike McCarthy’s plea to select one of this year’s crop of college hopefuls.
“My God, I hope we can get one of these running backs,” he said. “It would be great to add it to the room.”
It is believed that Elliott’s return was one of the reasons why the team did not move to draft a running back, as the Cowboys now look to improve on their 2023 season that saw them crash out of the playoff in the Wild Card round when they lost to the Green Bay Packers.
The Cowboys’ last Super Bowl appearance came in 1996 when they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers to land the fifth title in team history.
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