What happened to Ezekiel Elliott? Where is former Cowboys RB playing now?

Two Cowboys rookies burst onto the scene in 2016: Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott. The running back was taken in the first round with the fourth overall pick and the quarterback was taken in the fourth round with the 135th pick overall.

Both were immediately thrust into the team. Elliott was designated to be the running back right out of the gate and Prescott became the starter after an injury to Tony Romo. Together they combined thrillingly and ushered in a new era for the Dallas Cowboys, with the quarterback being named the Offensive Rookie of the Year and the running back being the rushing yards leader for the league.

But since then their career trajectories have veered. Dak Prescott is still leading the charge for Dallas as they look to make a deep run into the postseason this year. He is in the MVP conversation with 26 touchdown passes and six interceptions this season after 12 games. Meanwhile, Ezekiel Elliott is nowhere to be seen.

Instead, he is playing for the New England Patriots who sit with a 2-9 record and look nowhere close to reaching the playoffs. Even in that team, he has 377 yards and two receiving touchdowns after 11 games and is getting outgunned by Rhamondre Stevenson, who has 580 yards and double the touchdown numbers.

It marks a spectacular fall from grace for the running back and shows a career trajectory that peaked in his rookie year.

Ezekiel Elliott on a constant downward curve

Ezekiel Elliott finished 2016 with 1,631 rushing yards in 15 games. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry and had 15 rushing touchdowns. The next year he played only 10 games and had only 983 yards. He rebounded in 2018 with 1,434 yards and followed it up in 2019 with 1,357 yards.

But a trend was already emerging. Even though he made it to the Pro Bowl in each of 2016, 2018 and 2018, his yards per carry fell from 5.1 to 4.7 and then 4.5. By 2020, he was rushing at 4 yards per carry and had less than 1000 yards. In 2021, he barely reached triple digits with 1,002 yards and he did so in 17 games. Last year, he had just 876 yards and his yards per carry dropped below four to 3.8.

It showed that Ezekiel Elliott was done as an elite force and the Dallas Cowboys let him leave. After finding no suitors during the offseason who were clamoring for his services, he settled with the New England Patriots.

He also became the poster child for teams deciding not to pay running backs high-value contracts after their rookie deals as they realized that players in the position often peaked right away after they entered the league. After his Pro Bowl season in 2019, he was given a six-year $90 million deal. It was the last time he was selected for it.

Ezekiel Elliott's current contract with the New England Patriots shows how far his stock has fallen. He is on a one-year deal. His base salary is reportedly just $1.55 million. $3 million is given in the form of incentives, meaning there is no guarantee he gets them. His salary cap hit is reported to be $2.9 million, meaning the cap hit the Patriots are taking for him this year is lower than what the Cowboys are accruing.

With running backs available on the cheap from the NFL Draft, Ezekiel Elliott is lucky to be in the league right now. And the way things are going, there is no guarantee he will be back next year. Meanwhile, Dak Prescott rolls on and will be looking for a new and improved contract towards the end of this season, if he can continue his form and do well in the playoffs.