Ellington rushed three times for nine yards and brought in both of his targets for 34 yards in the Buccaneers' 17-15 preseason win over the Cowboys on Thursday.
Like the other two Buccaneers backs that saw carries Thursday -- Bruce Anderson and Dare Ogunbowale -- Ellington couldn't get much going on the ground, especially considering gained 11 yards on one tote and netted minus-2 on his other pair of rushing touches. It was a different story through the air, as the 30-year-old led Tampa in receiving yards and tallied a team-high 23-yard reception on one of his two grabs. The battle for the third running back role between Ellington and Ogunbowale has been a heated one all summer, and it remains to be seen who'll emerge victorious at final cuts in the coming days.