5 best Ezekiel Elliott landing spots if Cowboys cut RB
By Kristen Wong
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
What do you do when you lose your starting quarterback? You find a way to keep competing. And Ezekiel Elliott is the most clear-cut answer to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ impending struggles in 2023.
Elliott won’t magically turn an identity-less team into a Super Bowl contender, but he can at least soften the transition a bit.
As the Bucs grapple with the question of who will play quarterback next season, they can still give themselves a fighting chance to win the NFC South by acquiring Elliott. In 2022, Tampa Bay finished as the worst run offense in the league, averaging 75.6 yards per game, a 20-yard drop-off from last year. The only reason the Bucs topped their division and punched a ticket to the playoffs was because of Brady’s immortal arm.
With Brady out of the question, the Bucs are left with a broken offensive scheme to fix in one offseason, and going after a talented ball-carrier in Elliott could actually put them right back in playoff contention considering the Bucs play in the worst division in football.
Leonard Fournette declined in efficiency by the season’s end, averaging just 2.2 yards on 11 carries in the playoff loss to the Cowboys. Rookie Rachaad White looked good compared to Fournette but still isn’t an every-down starting option.
If the Bucs are worried about scoring production next year (and they absolutely should be worried about it), they should take a serious look at Elliott, who boasts one of the highest success rates against stacked boxes.