Jerry Jones delivers emotional Cowboys goodbye to Ezekiel Elliott

The Cowboys are releasing running back Ezekiel Elliott and owner Jerry Jones who is feeling all emotional with an emotional farewell to the former star.

Even though it had to happen, the Dallas Cowboys’ coming to the decision to cut long-time running back Ezekiel Elliott on Wednesday is a tough one for everyone. Even with his on-field shortcomings in recent years, he was a franchise warrior, likable teammate, and his early years were an electric performer, too.

But he’s gone now. Elliott is slated for a post-June 1 cut to save approximately $10 million towards the salary cap, after which he’ll be free to sign elsewhere, though he’ll be able to start negotiating immediately.

That doesn’t take away the sentiment from the release, though. And that was nowhere clearer than the statement released Wednesday by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

“Zeke’s influence and impact is felt in the Cowboys franchise in a very special and indelible way,” Jones began gushing about what Elliott meant for this team before reiterating that the running backs will always have a special place in the hearts of the franchise and fans. You can read the full statement below, via NFL Network’s Mike Garvolo.

Jerry Jones bids emotional farewell to Ezekiel Elliott: ‘The cowboy star wore it with pride and purpose’

The word that was said about Elliot was not true. The running back may have been sad because he’s battled through injuries in recent years, but he continued to fight for the Cowboys and was a fighter for this team. It is not surprising to hear this sentiment from Jones.

Jones apparently took Ezekiel Elliott fourth overall in the 2016 draft and has been in his corner since the start. It never stopped as Jones constantly reiterated throughout Zeke’s career how important running back was to success and the core of the team.

A new era is now beginning, though, and it’s clearly going to look a lot different. Tony Pollard is back on the franchise tag and it’s likely that Dallas will sign another cheap comeback or the reigns one. In any case, the Cowboys are clearly going to miss Elliott, even if it was definitely time to move on.

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