OXNARD, Calif. — It is a huge year for Ezekiel Elliott.
"Yeah," Elliott said, "I think it is a big season."
A big season, because it could be his last as a Cowboy. Dallas has an out in his contract after 2022, that makes it feasible for them to cut him if they want. The Cowboys could get out from underneath the final four years of his deal, with just $11.9 million in dead money.
"I don't think there's really a reason to look that far down the road," he said, when asked about it on Wednesday. "I think if I handle my business every day, then I'll be in a pretty good situation."
First, though, he had to put last season behind him. 2021 was, by Elliott's standards, a mediocre year. There were reasons for that, of course. He was hampered much of the year by an injured knee. And that injury lingered on him.
"I was a little worried at the beginning of the offseason, like 'dang, this thing still feels a little iffy.' By the time OTAs hit, I was back 100," Elliott said.
"He overcame a lot to play," head coach Mike McCarthy said. "And I think that speaks volumes about him. And you need those types of individuals to win championships."
Elliott's work in the offseason, with his running back coach Josh Hicks, is what helped him finally feel like himself again.
"You know, it's tough, being injured, and kinda feeling yourself lose a step," Elliott said. "And so it definitely helped to get moving, and get back to the speed I was used to, and just bringing that confidence back in myself, back in my body, back in my mind, that I can make those cuts."
The Cowboys haven't lost confidence in him.
"Zeke Elliott is one of rocks on this team," McCarthy said declaratively on Wednesday. "He's a keystone player."
And as Elliott works to get back to being the back he once was, he's expanding his mental capacity too, even spending time in quarterback meetings to understand the offense better.
"He's a very smart football player," McCarthy said, "and to be honest with you, he likes to be engaged at the quarterback level."
"Just knowledge is power," Elliot said. "So, if I can go in there and get a nugget here, a nugget there, it's gonna help me, down the road."
And Elliott hopes it helps him enough that down the road he's still a Cowboy.