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Drafted by the Dallas Cowboys with a Top 5 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, former Pro Bowl running back Ezekiel Elliott now finds himself as a free agent and in search of a new team.
Despite still being 27 years old and having multiple 1,000-yard seasons under his belt, Elliot remains unsigned after being on the open market for close to three months.
Speaking to the media earlier this week, via the Tampa Bay Times, Buccaneers running backs coach Skip Peete — who spent the last three seasons in Dallas with Elliott — implied that Zeke’s unwillingness to accept a backup role is probably why he remains unsigned.
“I think that’s part of the reason he’s sitting out there. If you’re going to play, I mean, you’re going to be the second and third guy. That’s kind of what the price is. So. that’s something that a person has to be able to see that that is what it is going to be,” Peete said.
He didn’t only sneak diss Elliott, however, as he also stated he believes Elliott is still a “quality running back” in the National Football League.
“I think Zeke is still a good, quality running back. He’s playing 50% of the snaps, so your numbers are not the same, that’s natural. But he still scored 12 touchdowns. He still caught the ball well. He still had numerous third-and-1, and short and goal-line places where he helped us win games. He’s still a physical load.”
Given Zeke’s age and pedigree, it’s likely he finds a team prior to the start of training camps later in the Summer. Still, if he’s having his agent only search for teams that can offer him a starting job — and that’s completely hypothetical, by the way — then he’ll likely be in for a rude awakening, as his position is one of the most constantly turned-over in the sport. Running backs, famously, have the shortest average career length of any position in the NFL.