Elliott: ‘Can’t look too far down the road’ on Dallas tenure

The 2022-23 season is a meaningful one in Dallas — for the team as a whole, and for one specific star player. 

Ezekiel Elliott signed a six-year, $90 million extension in 2019, one that he has so far failed to live up to in terms of production. 

Elliott rushed for 1,357 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2019, earning his third Pro Bowl selection in the process. 

And even though a year later he tallied 979 rushing yards and six TDs, and this past season he put up 1,002 yards on the ground and 10 TDs — only missing a single regular-season game over the past two years — his mystique as one of the game’s best running backs has somewhat diminished.

It’s probably because he averaged 1,351.3 rushing yards and 10 scores on 292.3 carries through his first four seasons, but is putting up 990.5 rushing yards and eight rushing TDs on 240.5 carries in the two seasons since signing that big deal. 

At Cowboys camp on Wednesday, Elliott was asked about his expectations for this upcoming season, and what his future could be in Dallas.

“I think it’s a big season, but you can’t look too far down the road. I think if I focus on every day, if I focus on having a good day of camp, if I focus on taking it week by week, I think everything will handle itself. And I don’t think there’s really a reason to look that far down the road. I think if I handle my business every day then I’ll be in a pretty good situation at the end of the season.”

Elliott led the league in rushing as a rookie in 2016, finished 10th in 2017, led the league again in 2018, and finished fourth in 2019.

He finished 11th in 2020, and seventh this past season.