In his second year in the NFL, Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowl running back Ezekiel Elliott saw his 2017 campaign hampered by his off-the-field situation that resulted in a six-game suspension. He was able to play for most of the season, but the cloud of the situation made things quite difficult for him hone in being able to take the field and help his team.

It was an experience that Elliott had gone through that forced him to adjust to the circumstances for putting himself in that type of questionable situation. With that in mind, team owner Jerry Jones has voiced that he believes that the 22-year-old will be a completely different player mentally moving forward in his career, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.

“But from the standpoint of mentally, there is no question — I'm 100 percent sure — to not have that on your mind, to not have the ambiguity of not knowing timelines, those kinds of things, there's no doubt in my mind it will make a significant difference in how he can focus, how he can focus not only on the next practice but the next game and the entire season.”

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With the entire issue now having been handled, Elliott can shift his entire attention toward the football field. This offseason can be used to preparing himself for the 2018 campaign to bounce back in a major way while being a huge factor offensively that mirrors his standout rookie year.

The Cowboys are counting on Elliott to carry a significant part of the offensive workload to help lead the team to success to reach the playoffs again. The team has returned much of the same talent while adding more talent to the receiving core after the departure of both wideout Dez Bryant and tight end Jason Witten.

In essence, the table is set for Elliott to re-establish himself as one of the elite running backs in the league while pushing his team into the playoff picture.