Former Cowboys Coach Suggests Ezekiel Elliott Is Having Trouble Accepting Lesser Role With Potential New Teams

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Ezekiel Elliott still has plenty left in the tank to be a productive running back in the NFL. Whether or not that translates into being a true No. 1 running back for a new team is up for debate, one that the former Dallas Cowboys' rusher seems to be struggling with.

Elliott is still a free agent with the start of mini-camps right around the corner and one of his former coaches suggests that it's partly due to the running back's desire to be the top dog on the roster.

Ezekiel Elliott is still looking for a new team. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

Skip Peete was on Dallas' staff from 2020 to 2022 and still keeps in touch with Elliott. The two spoke over the phone earlier this week and Peete's takeaway was that Elliott needs to be willing to accept both a lesser role and a smaller paycheck in order to be signed by a new team.

"I think that’s part of the reason he’s sitting out there," Peete told the Tampa Bay Times. "If you’re going to play, I mean, you’re going to be the second and third guy. That’s kind of what the price is. So, that’s something that a person has to be able to see that that is what it is going to be."

READ: EZEKIEL ELLIOTT REPORTEDLY NARROWS FOCUS DOWN TO THREE TEAMS, APPARENTLY THINKS HE HAS MORE JUICE THAN HE DOES

The Cowboys had a pretty lethal one-two punch in the backfield last season with Tony Pollard and Elliot, but the veteran fought his new role as the No. 2 guy behind the former Memphis Tiger.

Elliott rushed for 876 yards and 12 touchdowns in 15 games last season. A team will pick up the soon-to-be 28-year-old back, but only if the two parties share the same expectations.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.