The Dallas Cowboys are reuniting with running back Ezekiel Elliott after agreeing to terms on a contract with the former two-time rushing champion, a person with knowledge of the deal said Monday.

Elliott returns to the Cowboys a year after they let him go in a cost-cutting move. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the agreement was pending a physical.

The Cowboys acknowledged during the draft last weekend that they had recently met with Elliott and his representatives.

Dallas didn’t draft a running back after moving from its starter each of the past two seasons, and owner and general manager Jerry Jones said he thought Elliott was still a starting-caliber back.

Elliott rejoins a team that includes Rico Dowdle, Elliott’s teammate from 2020-22, and second-year players Deuce Vaughn and Hunter Luepke. Dallas also added journeyman Royce Freeman this offseason.

Elliott, who will turn 29 just as the Cowboys report for training camp in California in July, spent last season as the backup to Rhamondre Stevenson in New England but started the last five games when Stephenson was injured.

Elliott won rushing titles in two of his first three seasons with the Cowboys and is the third-leading rusher in franchise history with 8,262 yards. He trails two Pro Football Hall of Famers — all-time NFL rushing leader Emmitt Smith and Tony Dorsett.

Tony Pollard, a fourth-round pick by Dallas in 2019, replaced Elliott last season but didn’t have an impact to match his $10.1 million salary playing on the franchise tag. Pollard signed with Tennessee in free agency.

CHIEFS: Kansas City signed Travis Kelce to a two-year contract extension that General Manager Brett Veach said would make him the league’s highest-paid tight end while keeping him with the Super Bowl champions through the 2027 season.

Kelce signed a four-year, $57.25 million extension with Kansas City in 2020, which followed a $46 million, five-year deal that he signed in 2016. The new extension would keep the 34-year-old Kelce with the club until he is 38 years old.

Veach did not provide a financial breakdown of the latest extension, but he did call it a priority to “adjust his contract” and that “it is very fitting that Travis is now the highest-paid tight end in these two years.”

“Hard to put into words what Travis means to this organization and this city,” Veach told local reporters on Zoom. “Just a really special day and moment for this organization to once again recognize arguably one of the greatest tight ends to ever do it.”

Kelce, who was chosen by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 draft, already is their career leader with 11,328 yards receiving. He needs eight receptions to reach 917 and pass Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez for that record, and three touchdown catches would give him 77, dropping Gonzalez to No. 2 on that franchise list.

BILLS: Previously suspended receiver Quintez Cephus is back in the league after signing a one-year contract with the Buffalo Bills.

Cephus was one of three players suspended indefinitely last April for betting on NFL games in 2022. Two of his teammates at the time, fellow receivers Stanley Berryhill and Jameson Williams, received six-game suspensions for betting on non-NFL games at the team facility.

Cephus, Lions safety C.J. Moore and Washington defensive end Shaka Toney were forced to sit out the 2023 season. All three were cut following their suspensions. The NFL reinstated them two weeks ago.

Moore and Toney remain free agents.

JAGUARS: Five-time Pro Bowl receiver Jarvis Landry is trying to get back in the league after sitting out last season.

The 31-year-old Landry will take part in Jacksonville’s rookie minicamp May 10-11, a chance to prove he’s fully healthy following a nagging ankle injury in 2022.

Landry has played nine NFL seasons, including four in Miami and four in Cleveland. He signed a one-year, $3 million deal with his hometown New Orleans Saints in 2022 but finished with 25 receptions for 272 yards and a touchdown – all career lows. He missed eight games and landed on injured reserve that December.

• Jacksonville exercised fifth-year contract options on quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne.

The former Clemson stars were first-round draft picks in 2021.

Lawrence is 20-30 as a starter since being selected first overall that year. He has thrown for 11,770 yards, with 58 touchdowns and 39 interceptions. He also has run for 11 scores. The Jaguars are hoping to sign him to a long-term contract before training camp begins in July.

COMMANDERS:  Sam Hartman is getting his first chance in the NFL with the Washington Commanders.

The team signed the former Notre Dame and Wake Forest quarterback Monday along with 10 other undrafted free agents.

Hartman, 24, is the latest addition to a crowded group of QBs after the team selected LSU Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels with the second pick in the draft and signed veterans Marcus Mariota and Jeff Driskel. Washington still has practice squad holdover Jake Fromm around, too.

TELEVISION: Matt Ryan, who retired last week after 15 years in the NFL, will join CBS Sports as a studio analyst on “The NFL Today” and Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason will leave after long runs on the show, the network announced.

Ryan will join James Brown, Nate Burleson, Bill Cowher and JJ Watt. The 2016 NFL MVP and four-time Pro Bowl quarterback joined CBS Sports last season as an NFL game analyst and appeared in studio during the playoffs and Super Bowl.

• Jason Kelce will join ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown” after retiring from the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this year, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.

The person confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because it was not expected to be announced until the ESPN/Disney upfront presentation to advertisers on May 14. The Athletic was the first to report on Kelce’s choice.

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Patriots agree to extension with defensive tackle Christian Barmore

Next »

Red Sox cut Pablo Reyes, add Garrett Cooper to roster