All sights might be on Ezekiel Elliott as he makes his go back to Arlington, Texas in Day 4, because the Fresh England Patriots have a highway bout in opposition to the Dallas Cowboys at Jerry’s International on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports activities app).

Elliott, who spent the primary seven seasons of his NFL occupation with the Cowboys, was once short on March 15 on the respectable get started of detached company in a exit that stored the group over $10.9 million then he posted occupation lows in lots of primary sections terminating season.

Nonetheless, Elliott had an incredible occupation in Dallas general, which he’ll be commemorated for Sunday. That mentioned, is this type of age important?

Now not in line with Skip Bayless, who opined on Thursday’s version of “Undisputed” that the Cowboys shouldn’t honor Elliott, in large part because of his let fall in efficiency then signing a six-year, $90 million extension prior to the 2019 season.

“The first year, it was off the charts,” Bayless mentioned. “It’s one of the all-time great rookie running back years you’ll ever see. He was the best player in the league that year, and he deserved the Rookie of the Year over Dak [Prescott]. He was very good in his second and third years, but then for four straight years, it was just hard to find 2016 Zeke.”

Elliott, 28, led the NFL with 1,631 dashing yards in his rookie season in 2016 — a Cowboys rookie document — on 5.1 yards in step with elevate, era additionally totaling 15 dashing touchdowns. Refer to yr, he overlooked six video games because of a home violence abeyance. In 10 video games performed, he ran for simply 4.1 yards in step with elevate. Elliott bounced again in 2018, chief the league with 1,434 dashing yards.

In 2019, which was once Elliott’s first complete season then signing an extension, he totaled 1,357 dashing yards and 12 dashing touchdowns on 4.5 yards in step with elevate, which was once adopted via 4.0 yards in step with elevate in 2020 and four.2 in 2021. Elliott was once discharged then the 2022 season, which noticed him run for simply 3.8 yards in step with elevate, era fellow working again Tony Pollard — whom Dallas implemented the $10.1 million working again franchise tag to within the offseason — rose to prominence.

Elliott signed a one-year offer with the Patriots virtue as much as $6 million in August and is coming off his very best sport up to now, dashing for 80 yards on 5.0 yards in step with elevate in a 15-10 win over the Fresh York Jets, the Patriots’ first of the season.

At the alternative hand, cohost Michael Irvin thinks the Cowboys must completely give Elliott his age.

“Zeke put up 1,600 yards his rookie season, 15 touchdowns,”  Irvin started. “He should’ve clearly won Rookie of the Year. They gave it to Dak Prescott because Dak started and had a great season that season, but it clearly was Zeke that led that football team.

“He must be commemorated; he intended a splendid offer to this group. [They] went 13-3 that first yr, pulled [them] proper up out of the gutter.”

In all, Elliott — the No. 4 overall pick in the 2016 — posted four 1,000-plus rushing seasons, led the league in rushing twice, was a three-time Pro Bowler and earned one All-Pro honor with the Cowboys. He’s third all-time in Cowboys franchise history in rushing yards (8,262) behind Dallas icons Emmitt Smith and Tony Dorsett. 

In 103 games with Elliott, Dallas went 64-39 all-time, winning 62% of those matchups. The Cowboys appeared in the playoffs four times with Elliott (2016, 2018, 2021-22), going 2-4 in those games.

In three games with the Patriots thus far in 2023, Elliott has picked up 122 rushing yards on 28 carries (4.4 yards per carry) for zero touchdowns. He has also added 21 receiving yards on six catches over that same span.

[Do you want more great stories delivered right to you? Here’s how you can create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow your favorite leagues, teams and players and receive a personalized newsletter in your inbox daily.]

---

---