The Cowboys shored up their running backs room during the 2023 NFL draft, selecting Deuce Vaughn, son of team scout Chris Vaughn, in the sixth round out of Kansas State.
Despite adding to the backfield at the draft, owner Jerry Jones indicated a reunion with Ezekiel Elliott isn’t out of the question for Dallas. Jones was asked by reporters about the possibility of the Cowboys re-signing Elliott.
“No, no no. Not at all. That ship hasn’t sailed yet. We haven’t made a decision,” said Jones, via David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. “Nothing we did today changes that.”
Elliott was released during the offseason and has yet to latch on with another team. Jones indicated, however, that there’s a possibility for Elliott to return to the Cowboys in 2023.
Jerry Jones was asked if anything Cowboys did in this draft rules out the club talking to Ezekiel Elliott about a possible return.
— David Moore (@DavidMooreDMN) April 30, 2023
“No, no no,” he said. “Not at all. That ship hasn’t sailed yet. We haven’t made a decision.
“Nothing we did today changes that.” pic.twitter.com/EWb5RjKpwl
Last season, Elliott scored 12 rushing touchdowns. He carried the ball 231 times for 876 yards, the lowest rushing output of his career.
Elliott was set to carry a cap hit of $16.2 million in 2023. By designating the veteran running back as a post-June 1 cut, the team will save as much as $10.9 million, while taking on a $5.82 million dead cap charge.
After drafting Vaughn with the No. 212 pick, Dallas’s backfield now consists of Tony Pollard, Malik Davis, Ronald Jones, and Vaughn. Nevertheless, Jones refused to rule out the possibility of Elliott returning to the Cowboys and joining that group, even after parting ways earlier in the offseason.
