Patriots' Ezekiel Elliott: I Didn't Have Extensive Talks About Returning to Cowboys

A quick reunion between Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys apparently never came close to fruition.

Elliott told reporters Wednesday he and the Cowboys had a "minimum" of conversation after he was cut in March.

That makes sense with the financial factors behind his departure from Dallas at play.

Jettisoning the three-time Pro Bowler put $5.8 million in dead money on the books for the 2023 NFL season. (He'll also count for $6 million in 2024.) By turning around and signing him back, the Cowboys would in effect have been paying for him twice.

Of course, that didn't stop team owner Jerry Jones from entertaining the idea at various points in the offseason. Based on Elliott's comments, Jones' position in public differed greatly from how he actually approached the situation.

Given how badly the six-year, $90 million extension he signed in 2019 had aged, fans understood why the Cowboys moved on from the 28-year-old. His value had been steadily diminishing and there was little reason to think the trend would reverse as he got older.

So far, Elliott hasn't done much to prove Dallas and his skeptics wrong.

While he's performing well in a secondary role (28 carries for 122 yards) for New England, his production is a far cry from what he was delivering at his peak.