With Ezekiel Elliott holding out, Cowboys reach deal to bring Alfred Morris back to Dallas
Ezekiel Elliott has yet to arrive at training camp in Southern California amid a contract dispute, so the Dallas Cowboys — at least for now — have turned elsewhere.
The Cowboys reached a one-year deal to bring running back Alfred Morris back to Dallas, the team announced on Monday. He is expected to arrive at their training camp in Oxnard, California, on Monday night to officially sign the deal, filling up their final roster spot.
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Morris spent two seasons with the Cowboys in 2016 and 2017, and was even their starting running back early in 2017 when Elliott was serving his six-game suspension. He ran for 547 yards and had one touchdown that season, averaging nearly five yards per carry.
The 30-year-old — who was selected by the Redskins in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL draft and racked up three 1,000-yard seasons in Washington — spent last season on a one-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers, where he ran for 428 yards on 111 carries and two touchdowns in 12 games.
The Cowboys reportedly tendered what they believed to be a “solid offer” to Elliott on Monday afternoon, however have not yet heard back from the 24-year-old. Instead, Elliott left Dallas for Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on Monday to go train at his agent’s property, something he did during his 2017 suspension. His team and the Cowboys front office are expected to keep working on a deal while he’s in Baja California Sur.
While it’s likely that Elliott and the Cowboys will get a deal done in the near future — he has to report by Aug. 6, or he won’t accrue a season toward becoming a free agent — the team now at least has a solid backup plan in place, one who already knows the landscape in Dallas.
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