Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says ‘Zeke’ is likely headed to team’s Ring of Honor
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has plans to celebrate and honor running back Ezekiel Elliot well beyond the surprise he potentially has in store when the two-time NFL rushing champion returns to AT&T Stadium on Sunday as member of the New England Patriots.
Jones cut Elliott in March because of his high salary and because of a decline in production. But he believes Elliott’s legacy is comparable to the team’s all-time greats.
And thus Jones said he will consider him for induction into the team’s hallowed Ring of Honor.
Elliott, who was drafted by the Cowboys with the No. 4 overall pick in 2016, was a two-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler in Dallas.
He is the team’s third all time leading rusher with 8,262 yards behind Hall of Famers Tony Dorsett (12,036) and Emmitt Smith (17,162). He has the third most touchdowns in team history (80) behind Dorsett (86) and Smith (164).
“I do. Yes I do. I sure do,” Jones said when asked on 105.3 The Fan if he viewed Elliott as worthy of a future Ring of Honor induction. “It’s what he did for the team. Frankly, I thought he was very influential in the image of the Cowboys. And I mean that positively. Away from the field or as to the field as it was perceived with our fans. Just the entertainment of the Cowboys. To me, I look to that when I think about the Ring of Honor. Not only, what he did with stats on the field, not only what he did as a punishing runner, but also what he did to lift the franchise . . . Zeke lifted the whole franchise.”
Jones said earlier in the week that the team would honor Elliott prior to Sunday’s game.
And on Friday, he compared Elliott’s return to the time Smith returned to face the Cowboys as a member of the Arizona Cardinals in 2003.
Jones admitted he hoped that Elliott would re-signed with the Cowboys Dallas before he signed with the Patriots in August.
The Cowboys did make a minimal offer, but it wasn’t enough.
Jones said he remains fond of Elliott.
“I just can’t describe the positive thing that Zeke brings,” Jones said. “It’s a concern for me, relative to playing the Patriots. He’ll add an octave to it. I’m talking about just his demeanor in the dressing room, his demeanor in practice, all of that. In a way, it was as powerful as when you see him get his body lean and get down and lower that center of gravity and punish those tacklers. I miss him. He talked about how he didn’t hear a lot from me. We did talk after he had made the decision.
“There was a lot of me that wanted it to ... I wanted the best for him, of course, but still, I want the best for the Cowboys. And I was kind of laying in the weeds thinking that it might not go good for him with another team, and we would be able to do something at the end. And, of course, I knew that wasn’t going to be the case when Bill Belichick called about him and was asking all the right questions.”
While Elliott will likely have a future place in the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor, former coach Jimmy Johnson remains on the outside and still waiting.
Earlier this year, Jones announced that defensive end DeMarcus Ware, who was enshrined in the Pro Football of Fame in August, will be the 2023 inductee into the Cowboys Ring of Honor.
This story was originally published September 29, 2023 at 2:35 PM.
