FRISCO, Texas — As he entered the 2017 season, Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was fighting in court to remain on the field as a six-game suspension loomed over his head. As he enters the 2018 season, Elliott is looking at a big goal.
“I want to prove I’m the best back in the game,” Elliott said Wednesday, five days before the Cowboys take on the Carolina Panthers. “That’s what my focus this offseason was on.”
Days before the 2017 season opened against the New York Giants, Elliott was granted a stay by a Texas court, which allowed him to play after the NFL issued a six-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. He went through several court battles to remain eligible before eventually accepting the penalty.
He said he is entering this season with a chip on his shoulder.
The “chip on my shoulder is not having a full year last year just not performing the way I believe I could have,” Elliott said.
Asked if he thinks about where he was a year ago at this time, Elliott said, “No, that’s behind me.”
Elliott finished with 983 yards rushing in 10 games last season after leading the NFL with 1,631 yards as a rookie in 2016.
Elliott enters the regular season for the first time not having had a carry in the Cowboys’ four preseason games. In his first two seasons, he saw limited action in the third preseason game, but coach Jason Garrett opted to hold him out of the preseason this year.
“When you talk about the risk/reward of those guys at that position when they get to a certain time in their career, I think it’s best to just rest them,” Garrett said. “He worked very hard in practice. We just try to make it as gamelike as possible. Like with everybody in Week 1, you haven’t played a real live game in six or seven months. Everybody is going to have to get acclimated and get used to it.”