Have recent injuries zapped Ezekiel Elliott of his explosiveness?

Former Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott was released on Wednesday after he refused to take a pay cut. Throughout his seven seasons with the Cowboys, he was the team’s bell cow RB accumulating 8,262 rushing yards and 68 rushing touchdowns. But being one of the only running backs in the NFL with over 1,800 carries doesn’t bold well for his future in the NFL.

Elliott will turn 28 in July, which is old for an NFL RB. His rushes and yards per game have decreased yearly since his rookie season. He’s suffered a litany of injuries, such as a right knee hyperextension last season that cost him two games. Also, in the 2021-22 season, he suffered a calf injury, bruised ribs, and a partially torn PCL.

According to the Pro Football Docs, Elliott’s PCL tear has the possibility of causing some long-term damage, but overall he should be healthy going into training camp. 

But the health of an RB with over 1,800 carries differs from that of an RB with under 500 touches.

Before suffering his right knee injury last season, he had 109 carries for 443 yards (4.06 YPC) and four touchdowns in seven games.

After returning from the knee injury, Elliott had 122 carries for 433 yards (3.5 YPC) and eight touchdowns in eight games.

Essentially Elliott was playing decently before getting hurt but then was a bad player after returning from injury.

This was the second year in a row Elliott started significantly stronger than he finished.

Elliott’s days of being a team’s bell cow are over, but he still is one of the best short-yardage runners in the NFL. So, he should easily latch on to become a team’s RB2.