A familiar face will be heading back to Texas for the 2024 NFL season.
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 teamâs website.
The signing comes after the Cowboys failed to draft a running back in last weekâs NFL Draft, despite head coach Mike McCarthyâs plea to select one of this yearâs crop of college hopefuls.
âMy God, I hope we can get one of these running backs,â he said. âIt would be great to add it to the room.â
It is believed that Elliottâs 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 Cowboysâ last Super Bowl appearance came in 1996 when they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers to land the fifth title in team history.