Chargers reportedly sign running back Ezekiel Elliott

According to many sources, running back Ezekiel Elliott is joining the Los Angeles Chargers’ practice squad.

The Dallas Cowboys cut Elliott, 29, on New Year’s Eve, giving the nine-year veteran a chance to sign with a postseason club. The Chargers, who play in Houston on Saturday in the wild-card round, seem to be that club.

Throughout the season, injuries have put the Chargers’ running back depth chart to the test. Gus Edwards, the number two back, has missed the last two games due to an ankle injury, while J.K. Dobbins made a comeback last month after missing four games due to a knee ailment.

During the regular season, Dobbins led the team with 905 running yards, followed by Edwards with 365 and quarterback Justin Herbert with 306. With just 155 yards, Kimani Vidal was the next-leading rushing back.

With one game left in the regular season, Dallas cut Elliott. With 8,488 career running yards, he is third in Cowboys history, only surpassed by Tony Dorsett (12,036) and Emmitt Smith, the all-time top rusher in NFL history, who accumulated 17,162 of his 18,355 yards while wearing a Dallas uniform.

This season, Elliott caught 12 catches for 69 yards and ran for just 226 yards and three scores on 74 runs for Dallas. Before his yardage started to decline, he amassed at least 979 yards in each of his first six seasons.

Before the Cowboys cut Elliott after the 2022 season, he had 876 running yards. In 2023, he carried for 642 yards and three touchdowns while playing for the New England Patriots.

Elliott returns to Dallas this season. In the season-opening victory over the Cleveland Browns, he ran for 40 yards, but he only managed to get 30 yards twice more before being cut loose.