Rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott was spotted in a Seattle marijuana shop before Dallas played the Seahawks in a preseason contest last week, according to a TMZ report, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones isn’t pleased with the No. 4 overall pick, as Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes.
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“Well, I think that, in and of itself, the reason we are talking about it is in a way part of the learning process,” Jones said. “But it’s not good. It’s just not good. It’s just not good.
“Again that’s a part of just really getting the big picture here,” Jones said. “No matter if you played at whatever level there is a picture here of interest. So again, I’m aware of it. I heard the report and I would know how he is. And he needs to look at that and the other thing is it’s just not good. I don’t want to say anymore. I do want us do things that in general while it may not be wrong it’s just not good.”
Of course, while marijuana is not approved in the NFL, the substance is legal in the state of Washington, so technically Elliott was doing nothing wrong (and, per the TMZ report, Elliott didn’t purchase anything at the store). So while Jones may be disappointed in Elliott’s trip, the league is not concerned with the matter, tweets Ed Werder of ESPN.com.
However, a source tells Werder that some are worried about a “pattern of behavior” exhibited Elliott, who is still under investigation by the NFL after domestic violence accusations surfaced last month. Additionally, Elliott has reportedly been “partying” quite a bit since being drafted in the spring, leading the Cowboys organization to wonder about the former Ohio State running back’s maturity level, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter video). Finally, Bryan Broaddus of the team’s website says (Twitter link) that Elliott isn’t currently in “football shape.”
Clearly, some of these issues are more concerning than others, and not being in the proper shape or visiting a marijuana shop can’t be compared with rumblings of domestic violence. But for the Cowboys, it all adds up to a distraction that they don’t need, especially when so many of their players have already run into trouble this offseason. Rolando McClain, Demarcus Lawrence, and Randy Gregory, for example, are all facing suspensions of varying lengths for drug-related offenses.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Well if he can average 7 YPC against one of the best defenses in the NFL when he’s not in football shape I would love to see what he can do when he is. His behavior has been very worrisome though especially after what’s going on with Lawrence and Gregory.
Reminds me of Dez early on in his career, if he can produce highly, then Jones will not care, but until then, he definitely should be atleast worried since what happened with Gregory last year
Since when did the Cowboys ever give a crap about character
As they finalize a trade for Josh Gordon… 🙂 actuallly would like that tho
Yesterday was last week looks like someone has been visiting one if the shops here in town.
Elliott looked pretty good but let’s wait until real games start before we give him too much credit. The D was pretty vanilla like all pre season D is when they start running some stunts to stop him we will see. He is running behind a pretty good OL so he might do just fine he might also struggle with the pounding of a full NFL season. Time will tell.
Partying since being drafted is the best you have for this kid following a bad pattering he’s in his early 20s stop race baiting this kid he’s been a model citizen his who life and now the media want to be evil WHY? STOP ATTACKING YOUNG BLACK MEN
That’s just stupid. The NFL is predominately black, so you could say nearly any negative report about one of their athletes is “attacking young black men”. This young man, regardless of color, is not doing the right things. Domestic Violence isn’t a joke; Especially when you’re a MONSTAR beating a tiny woman. Also, he gets drug tested, so he’s clearly not getting stoned, or if he is we will find out. But what Jones is suggesting is that even if you’re not smoking weed, you prly shouldn’t put yourself in a situation where ppl may think you are. Especially when a RETRACTED report just caused multiple high profile players to have to do interviews just for being associated with PEDS.
*….”associated” with PEDS.
It isn’t legal in california and you can’t get into a dispensary unless you have a prescription. Having gone through the prescription process is a bigger red flag than going to the dispensary.