Jerry Jones admits another Trey Lance-sized mistake with latest Cowboys move

Jerry Jones may never come out and say it, but we all knew Jones signing Ezekiel Elliott was as desperate as it was useless last offseason. Jones and the Dallas Cowboys had already parted ways with Elliott once, why bring him back?

We may never know, but we do know now, it seems the Elliott saga is officially over; hopefully for good this time. According to Josina Anderson, the Cowboys are releasing Elliott. For what it’s worth, he also requested a release, per Anderson. 

It’s the end (again) of Elliott’s time in Dallas. This time, far more useless than the last. Though using him as a center and watching him get blown up by a defensive lineman in their final game of the 2022 season just might be the worst way to go out.

Jerry Jones’ latest failed move is another blow on a season that went off the rails

This season was supposed to be about putting the pieces together for a team to go on a playoff run and return to the Super Bowl for the first time in nearly three decades. And instead, it left Cowboys fans wondering. What happened this year? What was Jones thinking with all these irrational moves?

He traded for Trey Lance just to never commit to him, demote him to third-string behind Cooper Rush and not really clarify why he made the knee-jerk move. The Lance move looked like a good one as Dak Prescott was in a contract year. 

Rush, while being a great backup, wasn’t going to be a long term plan for Dallas so Lance was essentially an insurance plan. But when it came time to use him, they toyed with him instead. 

It feels like the same thing happened with Elliott. Only that move was more puzzling because Elliott had already reached his prime and was clearly not going to be the same running back he was his first time around. 

Trying to rationalize the move will bring more questions than answers. And now releasing him felt more of a necessity than a move that needed to be announced.  He was useless this season, rushing for just 226 yards and three touchdowns. It’s the lowest mark of his NFL career. 

The move never made sense to fans and probably left some players wondering what the play was. After all, the Cowboys refused to pay Tony Pollard so they had to make a move. And even then, it took them most of the season to finally admit Rico Dowdle was the feature back. 

He then proceeded to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark. Why did it take so long for Dowdle to be “named” the No. 1 back and why was it ever something that needed to be announced? 

We may never know what Jones means when he makes his moves each season. All in to him re-signing the top players and bringing back aging ones. All in to him is trading for a player that was never going to play. 

All in to Jones doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone else. Which is why the Elliott era in Dallas ended on a worse note than it did the first time around. 

And it’s why Jones needs to take a serious look at how he wants to evaluate this team in the offseason to avoid more mistakes like they had in 2024.