Three teams are reportedly “in” on free agent running back Ezekiel Elliott, and one of them is apparently no longer in on fellow free agent RB Dalvin Cook.
According to a report from Jeff Howe of The Athletic, the New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets remain front-runners to sign Elliott. Howe added that the Patriots are now out of the Cook sweepstakes:
“The Patriots have remained highly interested in Ezekiel Elliott, and the Cowboys are also in the mix to re-sign the 28-year-old, according to league sources. The New York Jets have also been in on Elliott.
The Jets have shown heavy interest in Dalvin Cook, but there haven’t been any recent developments on that, according to a league source. The Patriots, who had some peripheral interest in Cook, are now almost certainly not going in that direction, according to a league source.”
Elliott was released by the Cowboys in March, and the club went on to assign the franchise tag to Tony Pollard (the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement on a long-term deal). Cook was released by the Minnesota Vikings in a cap-saving move in June, and he surprisingly remains unsigned with preseason play just around the corner.
Earlier this week, Dallas owner Jerry Jones hinted that the club could still bring back Elliott following Ronald Jones’ two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s PEDs policy.
While Elliott is no longer in his prime, he is still a consistent 1,000-yard rushing threat. Despite missing two games and splitting the workload with Pollard last year, the two-time rushing champion had 876 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. And of course, Elliott remains one of the NFL’s running back blockers in pass protection.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
A four-time Pro Bowler, Cook has exceeded 1,000 yards rushing in four consecutive years. Last season, he had 1,173 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.
