“They have no love for you,” Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith slams the team for parting ways with Ezekiel Elliott
Emmitt Smith feels the firing of Ezekiel Elliott doesn't make any sense.
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Emmitt Smith and Ezekiel Elliott (Image via Yahoo News)
After their 28th consecutive unsuccessful Super Bowl run, the Dallas Cowboys made some serious changes to their team. They fired offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and hired Brian Schottenheimer to take his place. Seeing the low production from the offense, especially the running backs, the teams also decided to part ways with Ezekiel Elliott after seven long years.
Ezekiel Elliott was selected fourth overall by the Cowboys in the 2016 NFL draft and quickly established himself as one of the best in the league. However, his last season in Dallas was his worst yet. There wasn’t a single memorable or clutch play from Elliott and he ended the season with just 876 yards and 12 touchdowns and was arguably the worst running back in the league.
The Cowboys signed a six-year, $90 million contract extension with Elliott back in 2019. While the decision has been made to part ways with the running back, the move will take place after June 1. This will give the Cowboys $10.9 million in cap relief and just $5.82 million in dead cap.
Emmitt Smith thanked Ezekiel Elliott for his time in Dallas
The Cowboys were right in cutting Ezekiel Elliott because he wasn’t the same running back who led the league in rushing yards twice in 2016 and 2018. However, he will leave Dallas as third in all-time rushing yards with 8,262 yards. Most of the analysts agreed with Dallas firing Elliott, except former Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith. The legendary running back was visibly unhappy with the Cowboys parting ways with the 27-year-old.
Smith expressed his frustration in the comment section of the Cowboys’ Instagram post, “Wow, this is amazing to me-no disrespect to Malik Davis. Our starting running back is gone, and his backup has a broken leg? the NFL stands for not for long. Everyone else, go get your money because they have no love for you. It don’t make sense and this is one of those things that make you shack your head. Thank you Z for giving everything you have including plan injured all of last year. This is why, the NFL stands for not the law. Everybody else go get your money because they have no love for you.”
Emmitt Smith was part of ‘The Triplets’ alongside Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin, who were the backbone of the Cowboys and helped create their dynasty in the 90s. Smith is widely considered one of the best running backs in NFL history. Smith is the league’s all-time leading rusher with 18,355 yards. The Hall of Famer expected the Cowboys to stand by Elliott during his slump and not fire him right away.
Ezekiel Elliott is now looking for a landing spot for the 2023 season and, given his production last year, there aren’t many teams lining up to sign him. However, the Texans might be interested in him, who were 31st in rush yards per game, rushing touchdowns, and yards per carry in 2022. Elliott might be the key piece they need to get their running game going.
Additionally, the Bengals also seem like a great place for the running back after Samaje Perine left the team to join the Broncos. With Elliott on board, Joe Mixon won’t have to do all the work in the backfield. Let’s see which team sees the potential in Elliott that the great running back previously was.
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Yash Karandekar
(1023 Articles Published)