Ezekiel Elliott is looking to find a new home, but that feeling doesn’t appear to be mutual with the three teams that he is targeting to join.
On Thursday, a report from ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter suggested that Elliott is targeting the New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles as his next destination. Since that report surfaced, fans, players or coaches from all three organizations have reacted in their own way, largely pushing back on the idea.
In Philadelphia, Eagles fans led the way, largely comparing a potential Elliott signing to that of DeMarco Murray. However, John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia seemed to pour cold water on Elliott remaining in the NFC East, stating that the Eagles have not engaged in conversations with the 27-year-old running back and are happy with the running backs on their current roster.
I’m told as of right now the Eagles have not engaged in conversations with Ezekiel Elliott about joining the team and are happy with the running backs they have right now.
It seems the Eagles, Bengals, Jets are a wish list for Ezekiel Elliott and where he would like to play. pic.twitter.com/p6eZbZQBKA
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) March 23, 2023
In a since-deleted tweet, Jets running back Breece Hall tagged his fellow backfield ‘mate, Michael Carter, expressing that the Jets were “good over here.”
Breece Hall says the Jets are all set at RB after reports Ezekiel Elliott is interested in signing 👀 pic.twitter.com/YjgGplwjZL
— Pickswise (@Pickswise) March 23, 2023
So far, only one person from one of these teams has spoken on the record about these rumors. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor was the keynote speaker at St. Xavier’s 39th annual Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction on Thursday. Taylor discussed the Elliott speculation, and didn’t seem interested in signing the running back.
“There’s a lot of great players that are available right now,” Taylor said via Mike Dyer of WCPO 9-Cincinnati on Thursday. “We like our team as to where it’s at right now. It’s always funny when things get thrown around. Sometimes it’s the first you hear of it, but that’s just the way life works.”
Ultimately, we’ll have to see where Elliott ends up, but it appears he may not be welcomed in Philadelphia, New York or Cincinnati.
