Jerry Jones compares Ezekiel Elliott's return to Dallas to Emmitt Smith with Cardinals in 2003
Joining 105.3 The Fan on Friday, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones opened up about what it will be like to welcome back one of his favorite players of all time – Ezekiel Elliott – in a different uniform on Sunday. Elliott, now a member of the New England Patriots, makes his first visit back to AT&T Stadium for the first time since last December after seven seasons as the Cowboys starting running back.
Jones told The Fan hosts that even Emmitt Smith‘s return to Dallas with the Cardinals in 2003 doesn’t compare to the return of Zeke. Smith rushed for yardage on six carries when the Cardinals played the Cowboys. He ended up missing several games after that due to an injury.
“I’ll tell you, not any more so than Zeke,” Jones said. “I don’t think I can recall anyone more than Zeke. Emmitt, when he went to the Cardinals for two years, that was quite a time. I remember that he got hurt sometime early in the ballgame. I really felt the same way as I would have if he had been with the Cowboys at the time.
“Just can’t describe the positive things that Zeke brings. It’s a concern for me for him to play with the Patriots. Just his demeanor in the dressing room, in practice, in a way, it was as powerful as when you see him get that body low below his center of gravity and punish those tacklers.”
Cowboys hoped to bring Elliott back after release
The Cowboys released Elliott on March 15, opting not to pay the remainder of the six-year, $90 million extension he signed in 2019. Elliott, 28, was set to count $16.7 million against the salary cap in 2023 had Dallas retained him.
He remained a free agent for five months before the Patriots signed him on Aug. 16. Between March and August, Jones considered adding him back to the roster. Alas, the former Buckeye went with a one-year deal for $3 million to New England instead.
“I wanted the best for him but also the best for the Cowboys,” Jones said of his business decision. “I was kind of laying in the weeds, thinking that maybe it wouldn’t go well for him with another team and we would get to do something but I knew that wouldn’t be the case when Bill Belichick called and asked all the right questions.”
Jones already spilled the beans that his team plans to honor the former first-round draft pick on Sunday, but he also mentioned on Friday that Elliott is a candidate for the Cowboys Ring of Honor.
“I do, I sure do,” Jones said on whether he believes Zeke will make the cut. “It’s as much what he did on the team and frankly, I thought he was very influential in the image of the Cowboys, and I mean that positively, on and off the field. The way he was perceived by our fans and just the entertainment for the Cowboys. Zeke had a lift to (him) for the whole franchise.”
Kickoff between the Patriots and Cowboys is set for 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX on Sunday.