Cowboys ‘haven’t ruled out’ re-signing Ezekiel Elliott, despite taking Deuce Vaughn in 2023 NFL Draft

The Dallas Cowboys gave us one of the most special moments of the 2023 NFL Draft, when Chris Vaughn, the Cowboys’ assistant director of college scouting, got to make the phone call to his son, Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn, telling him that his squad had selected him with the No. 212 overall pick.

Some believed this selection marked the official end of the Ezekiel Elliott era. While Zeke is no longer on roster, a return to the fold was always seen as possible. With the Vaughn pick, that ship has sailed, right? Not exactly. 

“Ship has not sailed,” Jerry Jones said on potentially bringing Elliott back, via the Cowboys’ official website. “We haven’t made a decision. We’ve obviously drafted a running back, a little different style than Zeke, but it doesn’t change… For us, as far as our interest in Zeke nothing we did today changes that.”

As it stands now, the Cowboys have Vaughn, Tony Pollard, Ronald Jones, Rico Dowdle and Malik Davis on roster at running back. 

“That’s what we’ll be sitting here evaluating and look and see what his situation is [and] what our situation is,” Jones said. “But I haven’t ruled out Zeke.”

In March, ESPN reported that Zeke had narrowed down his next-team options to the Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles. Turns out, that was more of a wish list than Elliott choosing his next dance partner, as the Bengals, Jets and Eagles all said in their own way, “Thanks, but no thanks.” 

The Cowboys do not have a need for another running back, but there’s no question that Zeke is a Cowboys legend. It would be very odd to see him donning a different uniform on Sundays in 2023. Last season was probably the worst of…