Less than 24 hours removed from Ezekiel Elliott's reported signing with the New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is already fielding questions about his former starting running back's new situation.

Even after being cut by the Cowboys at the outset of the 2023 offseason, Elliott was still connected to America's Team throughout the summer. With Tony Pollard anointed as the franchise's new starter out of the backfield for at least the next year, the Cowboys don't have a backup set in stone just yet. Deuce Vaughn and Malik Davis have taken snaps behind Pollard in the running backs rotation, and the Cowboys' coaching staff has said they hoped the young runners could provide depth at the position. Still, Elliott's name kept coming up this offseason. That is until he inked a one-year deal in New England worth as much as $6 million with incentives.

Now McCarthy and the Cowboys have to stop thinking of Elliott as a possible reinforcement to their offense and start thinking of him as an opponent. Dallas takes on New England at home on October 1st.

“He’ll do great up there,” McCarthy said, per ESPN's Todd Archer. “Play-style alone, I think he’s a really good fit for how they like to play.”

Elliott is likely to play a backup, third-down role behind Rhamondre Stevenson in New England, just as he would have behind Pollard in Dallas. The Cowboys can now put the Zeke era behind them and focus completely on their in-house options at running back, especially after Vaughn's preseason eruption against the Jaxonville Jaguars on Saturday.