Ezekiel Elliott touched the ball on 35 percent of the Cowboys offensive plays last season, but Dak Prescott insists he won’t have more pressure on him without the star running back.
“We’ve got great running backs,” the Cowboys quarterback said in a Tuesday media session, via the team’s Facebook Live stream. “Darren McFadden and Alfred Morris, those guys have had a lot of success in this league for a long time, so it’s just an opportunity for them to come in and get more reps in his time off.”
Elliott has not talked since training camp started. He tweeted a statement Friday after the league handed him a six-game suspension, saying he was “surprised and disappointed” by the ruling and that he “strongly” disagreed with the NFL’s findings.
But Prescott said Elliott remains upbeat.
“He’s good,” Prescott said. “He’s been positive energy. It’s something that’s done. I can’t do anything. He can’t do anything. It’s done. I’m sure they’ll appeal, and that’s kind of out his hands there as well. . . . He’s been the same Zeke, and that’s good for him and good for this team.”
The Cowboys, though, might not see Elliott for a few weeks once the regular season begins. How does that change their offense?
Elliott led the league in rushing last season as a rookie, but Morris and McFadden have combined for five 1,000-yard seasons, totaling a combined 10,379 career yards and 59 rushing touchdowns.
Prescott admitted Elliott had a “huge impact” last season, “making the defense load the box and giving us one-on-ones outside and not just that but keeping our defense off the field and keeping their defense on the field for a long time.” But Prescott added his belief that the Cowboys offense will continue to run smoothly without Elliott.
“We have the running backs who have done it in this league for a long time, so it’s not a panic here,” Prescott said.