Bengals are ‘looming large’ in race to sign free agent running back Ezekiel Elliott after his release by the Cowboys – and he is eyeing Cincinnati, New York and Philadelphia as preferred choices

Cincinati said to be interested in adding a RB to pair with or replace Joe Mixon

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor commented appeared to shoot down the rumor

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According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Cincinnati Bengals ‘may be looming large’ in the race to acquire former Dallas Cowboys superstar running back Ezekiel Elliott.

‘I’m told [the Bengals] are seeking to acquire a running back, either through free agency or the draft, to combine with Joe Mixon, or they could move on from Mixon and save nearly $8 million in cap space,’ Fowler added.

Elliott was said to be interested in joining the New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, or Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday.

The three-time Pro Bowler was released by the Dallas Cowboys on March 15, after a seven-year career in which he accumulated 8,262 yards rushing and 68 rushing touchdowns on 1,881 rushes, as well as 2,336 yards receiving and 12 receiving touchdowns on 305 receptions.

Elliott had his greatest season with the Cowboys as a rookie, rushing for 1,631 yards and 15 touchdowns. In four of his seven seasons, he has rushed for more than 1,000 yards.

Last year he ran for 876 yards and 12 touchdowns. His 22 rushing TDs in the last two years proves that despite his yardage numbers taking a slight dip Elliott’s is still one of the league’s most dangerous runners of the ball in the redzone.

At only 27-years-old Elliott should have more than enough juice left in his legs to fill Mixon’s shoes if the team decides to part ways with the talented RB and his $12.8M salary cap charge

Last season Mixon ran for 814 yards and seven touchdowns, on 210 carries. He likely would have recorded another 1,000-yard season had he not missed three games.

If the team were to pair the duo together however, it would likely create the NFL’s best backfield combination as Elliott and Mixon would split carries to keep each other fresh.

Superstar quarterback Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ explosive passing game would also benefit from the added diversity in the running game as teams would be unable to gear a gameplan to take away one part of Cincinnati’s offense without being left exposed against the other.

Bengals head coach Zach Taylor commented on the Elliott rumors, and it would be safe to say his response did not confirm the links to the former Cowboy’s All-Pro.

‘There’s a lot of great players that are available right now,’ Taylor said, via WCPO’s Mike Dyer.

‘We like our team where it’s at right now, but it’s always fun when things get thrown around. Sometimes it’s the first you hear of it, but that’s just the way life works.’

Cincinnati has already seen the departure of backup running back Samaje Perine, who signed with the Denver Broncos.