Cowboys rumors: 1 trade, 1 free agent, 1 draft prospect to replace Ezekiel Elliott

Leonard Fournette should be a cheap Zeke replacement for the Cowboys

In the wake of Tom Brady’s retirement, the Buccaneers started to face the music with the salary cap, which has meant a lot of cheap signings, a lot of players walking, and several relatively big-name cuts. One of the first that they made was to set the stage to release former first-round pick (though that was done by the Jaguars) Leonard Fournette.

At 28 years old, Fournette is coming off of an admittedly down year as a rusher, averaging 3.5 yards per carry and rushing for only 668 yards and three touchdowns on the year. What’s interesting to note, though, is the circumstances.

With Tampa’s offensive line decimated by injuries, the blocking was quite bad and Fournette averaged more than 2.3 yards after contact. Moreover, he became an improved receiving option, catching the second-most balls (73) of his career to go with a career-high 523 receiving yards and three touchdowns in the passing game.

Put simply, there is reason to believe that Fournette still has some juice left and that he could be more effective behind the Cowboys offensive line. With Spotrac setting his market value at just $2.3 million in AAV, he’s a cheap veteran who could come into Dallas and do everything that Ezekiel Elliott did, but perhaps at a higher level when put into a better situation.