Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys have worked out a long-term contract extension just in time for the star running back to play in Week 1 against the New York Giants, but he may be eased back into things.
Elliott is expected to play somewhat of a limited role in Sunday’s game, Jane Slater of NFL Network reports. The plan as of Wednesday was to have him play 20-25 snaps, which would likely be less than half of a game.
Ahead of Ezekiel Elliott’s first team practice since June, I’m told the plan right now is about 20-25 reps on Sunday, rookie Tony Pollard behind him and FB Jamize Olawale as your best blitz pickup guy on 3rd downs. Things can always change but this is the plan heading into today.
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) September 4, 2019
It’s worth noting that Elliott is said to be in great shape and spent the offseason training in Mexico with Marshall Faulk, so there’s a chance he could impress the Cowboys’ coaching staff to the point where they’re comfortable giving him closer to a full workload. However, rookie Tony Pollard turned heads in the preseason and has likely earned himself some sort of role even with Elliott back.
Elliott trained in Mexico while he served his six-game suspension late in the 2017 season, and he returned to play a big role in the final two games of the year. While the Cowboys don’t want to risk him suffering an injury this early, there’s no reason to think he will be that far behind.
