Jason Garrett Says It’s Great to Have Ezekiel Elliott Back With Cowboys

Ezekiel Elliott is back with the Dallas Cowboys and head coach Jason Garrett loves it. Elliott has agreed to a six-year, $90 million contract extension and will be ready to play on Sunday when the Cowboys take on the New York Giants in the season opener. Garrett spoke to reporters on Wednesday morning and is happy to have Elliott back in the mix.

“We’re just happy to have him back in the fold,” Garrett said. “Obviously excited.”

When Elliott returned to the Cowboys locker room, the players were happy to have him back as they embraced him.

“We love Zeke, Garrett added. “He is a great player for us. He has such great juice and such great energy. Everybody was excited to have him back.”

One of the biggest questions is how much will Elliott play on Sunday since he hasn’t practiced since June. A report has been released that stated Elliott will see 20-25 snaps against the Giants. But it could be more than that based on what Garrett saw on Wednesday.

“He’s in very good shape,” Garrett continued. “He looks good.”

Elliott may not see a ton of action on Sunday, but Garrett knows having him on the field for the team’s season opener is huge.

“I think that was big,” Garrett said when talking about getting Elliott back this week. “I think both sides wanted that to happen. I know Zeke wanted that to happen.” Important for him to ‘have a full Wednesday of preparation, getting ready for a big game on Sunday.’”

Elliott agreed to a six-year, $90 million contract with $50 million guaranteed. Overall, Elliott will earn $103 million the next eight seasons which makes him the first $100 million running back in NFL history.

While Elliott was holding out, he was working out in Cabo during his contract holdout where he got a chance to train with Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk who said Elliott won’t be 100 percent for Sunday’s game.

“Play? Yes,” Faulk said on the Dan Patrick Show. “Play at a high level? Yes. But I would say, possibly run the risk, as any player would who was not in game-conditioned shape if you tried to play him the workload that the Cowboys use him. I don’t think he’s in that form that he could go out and do the things that we were accustomed to seeing him do for a whole game.”