Ezekiel Elliott has not been himself, and after his second straight game with just a career-low nine rushing attempts, the team may be looking to make a drastic move to get him back right.
Elliott was at a loss to explain why he didn’t get more carries against the Raiders on Thanksgiving, but look no further than his concerning knee injury as why the team pulled back on having him out there more.
As per an ESPN report Friday, the team is considering giving Elliott “some time off” to heal from the injury. That may include “holding him out” of next Thursday night’s game in New Orleans.
“Source: Cowboys will consider providing running back Ezekiel Elliott time off to heal from the knee injury he’s been managing, including the possibility of holding him out of next Thursday night’s game in New Orleans, according to a source,” says Werder. “IR not believed a consideration.”
Elliott has dealt with the knee injury throughout the 2021 season, but re-aggravated the injury last Sunday versus the Kansas City Chiefs.
Prior to Thursday’s game versus the Raiders, Elliott had averaged 90.4 rushing yards per game on 5.3 yards per carry over the first five contests. In the five games after, Elliott averaged just 48.6 yards per game on 3.7 yards per carry.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy acknowledged Elliott’s lack of production Sunday after the team’s 36-33 overtime loss by saying simply, “I think Zeke was struggling a bit.”
“I am concerned,” McCarthy told reporters on Friday via conference call when asked about Elliott. “He’s a warrior. He was fighting to get back in there every time, all day yesterday. I haven’t seen him personally yet today, and our medical information hasn’t come back yet as far as the things that come out of the game, so I don’t really have an update there. But, yeah, it’s that time of year. Zeke’s running style is ferocious. He gives a pounding, and he takes some hits. We need to evaluate that, and this week we’ll see what the preparation looks like for him.”
In his place, Pollard is showing that he can do just about everything as he displayed on Thanksgiving when he ran a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown versus the Raiders. Over the course of season, Pollard has run for 531 yards on 100 carries.
The Cowboys are currently on a 2-game losing streak, but lucky for them, they play in the putrid NFC East.
