Ezekiel Elliott missed the first week of the Dallas Cowboys' OTAs following an auto accident where he suffered soreness and a slight head injury. While Elliott missed out on a lot of the early practices, he refused to sit back and relax and kept studying and working anyway. Now that the Cowboys are in their second week of the OTAs, Dallas head coach Jason Garrett said that Ezekiel is not on a "pitch count" and they pushed him at full speed through the practices.
The Ezekiel Elliott car accident
The Ezekiel Elliott accident happened on May 24 when he was a passenger in the car that was rear-ended by another vehicle after a Tony Romo charity event.
The reports indicate that Ezekiel suffered a minor head injury. It was lucky that the injury wasn't worse because reports say that the accident was pretty bad. As a result, the Dallas Cowboys had Elliott sit out for the first week of the OTAs as a precaution.
Jason Garrett talks Ezekiel Elliott
Ezekiel Elliott had an amazing rookie season, rushing for an NFL-leading 1,631 yards and also scored 15 touchdowns on the season. Elliott carried the ball 322 times and caught 32 passes for 363 yards and another touchdown. With those numbers, the Dallas Cowboys might want to rest Ezekiel a little more in 2017 but not during the OTAs.
Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said that Ezekiel Elliott needs to practice.
He said that resting him now or giving him a pitch count like players returning from serious injuries like Jaylon Smith and DeMarcus Lawrence would just complicate the matter. He said that he is young and had a good 2016 but he still has room to improve -- and that comes in practice.
Plus, Jason Garrett said that Ezekiel Elliott wanted to get back on the practice field, saying he was "chomping at the bit." According to Garrett, Elliott was involved in all the walk-throughs last week when he was sitting out of the official practices.
Ezekiel Elliott in 2017
The Dallas Cowboys have high hopes for Ezekiel Elliott in 2017. With a year under their belts, Elliott and fellow second-year starter Dak Prescott are ready to improve from a season where they made the postseason and competed against each other for the NFL Rookie of the Year award. While Elliott led the NFL in rushing, Prescott had the third highest QB rating of the year behind only Tom Brady and Matt Ryan.
Last year surprised a lot of NFL fans but this year both Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott will have to prove that they are the real deal. According to Jason Garrett, Elliott has a love for football and is getting better and better. That is what the Dallas Cowboys need to get back to the Super Bowl again.
