Running back Ezekiel Elliott joined the practice squad of the Los Angeles Chargers after wide receiver Laviska Shenault was released on Tuesday.
Elliott, 29, was released by the Dallas Cowboys on New Year’s Eve, ending his second stint with the team. The Chargers are headed to the postseason, starting with a visit to Houston in the wild-card round on Saturday.
“Competitors welcome at the Los Angeles Chargers,” coach Jim Harbaugh said Tuesday. “Great to see him. He’s here and he’ll start having at it.”
Elliott and Chargers pass rusher Joey Bosa were teammates at Ohio State before they entered the NFL on back-to-back selections in the top five of the 2016 draft. Bosa went No. 3 before the Cowboys took Elliott fourth.
Elliott has six career playoff appearances, all with Dallas from 2016-22, and 393 rushing yards with two TDs in his postseason career.
The Chargers’ depth chart at running back was a concern down the stretch.
J.K. Dobbins missed four games with a knee sprain but returned while No. 2 back Gus Edwards is dealing with an ankle injury that has sidelined him for the past two games.
Dobbins led the team with 905 rushing yards during the regular season, followed by Edwards with 365 and then quarterback Justin Herbert with 306. The next-leading running back was Kimani Vidal with just 155 yards.
Dallas released Elliott with one game remaining in the regular season. He ranks third in Cowboys history with 8,488 career rushing yards, behind only Tony Dorsett (12,036) and the NFL rushing king Emmitt Smith, who had 17,162 of his record 18,355 yards in a Dallas uniform.
Elliott rushed for just 226 yards and three touchdowns on 74 carries for Dallas this season while also catching 12 passes for 69 yards. The two-time NFL rushing leader gained at least 979 yards in each of his first six seasons before his yardage began to spiral downward.
Elliott had 876 rushing yards in 2022 before the Cowboys released him following the season. He played for the New England Patriots in 2023 and rushed for 642 yards and three touchdowns.
This season, Elliott returned to Dallas. He rushed for 40 yards in the season-opening victory against the Cleveland Browns but reached 30 just twice more before being released.
