Ezekiel Elliott is preparing to play in AT&T Stadium in Week 4 of the 2023 NFL season. But this time, he's heading to Jerry World as an opponent as his New England Patriots face the Dallas Cowboys.

For seven years and from his very first day with the franchise, Elliott was one of the premier faces of the Cowboys. He was named to three Pro Bowls, led the league in rushing twice and rushed for more yards than anyone in franchise history aside from Emmitt Smith and Tony Dorsett. Once he declined, his contract diminished in value and Tony Pollard eclipsed him in effectiveness, Dallas unceremoniously moved on from Zeke.

The Cowboys plan to honor Elliott with a tribute for his efforts in Dallas, according to Todd Archer of ESPN. Elliott recognizes the emotions that will be at play but isn’t looking to lean into them.

“I mean, I don't have that much time to be too emotional,” Ezekiel Elliott said, via ESPN. “I've got to prepare for a game. I've got to go out put my best foot forward. I mean, there are emotions. I may do a good job of kind of hiding them but there will be some emotions.”

As he proves his worth to the Patriots as a complement to Rhamondre Stevenson, Elliott sounds like someone who has moved on from the Cowboys. Or, at least, he isn’t ready to fully admit what the team means to him after he was cut and with only days separating him from a matchup against them.

Elliott said that facing his old team will be “fun” following the Patriots' Week 3 win. It should be a good test for the Patriots, whose 1-2 start to the season is still promising. They lost to the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins but only by five and seven points respectively. The Cowboys also present a tough matchup for them but Dallas also just lost to the Arizona Cardinals, so they are clearly quite beatable.

Based on his blunt reaction to his Dallas homecoming, it sounds like Ezekiel Elliott is ready to play the role of spoiler and feed the Cowboys a loss.