There was a report earlier today that Ezekiel Elliott wasn’t going to play in 2019 unless he got a new contract. That’s apparently news to the Cowboys, as multiple sources told Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News that the team has “not been informed that Zeke Elliott will sit out the season if he doesnt get a new contract” (Twitter link). This doesn’t necessarily mean that Elliott doesn’t hold this stance, just that he hasn’t told Cowboys brass of his plans if that’s the case.
Unfortunately for Cowboys fans, things seem to be heading in the wrong direction between the two sides. We also heard earlier today that Dallas was growing frustrated with the status of talks with their trio of stars seeking new contracts. Elliott is in a complicated situation, because unlike Le’Veon Bell he won’t be able to sit out the season and become a free agent in the offseason. As such, his threats to sit out don’t seem quite as serious as Bell’s did and probably won’t give him too much leverage.
Here’s the latest on Dallas’ negotiations:
- Cowboys exec Stephen Jones made comments that are sure to raise plenty of eyebrows earlier today during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan. Jones had said back in February that Elliott’s deal was likely to start at what Todd Gurley got, but he’s apparently changed his mind now that he’s seen how Bell’s free agency played out. When asked if he regretted making the comments about Gurley, Jones said “no, I still think that’s within the realm. At the same time, I think the market re-set with Le’Veon (Bell’s contract). I think you see what happens with Gurley and you get a great player like Le’Veon, who’s every bit as well thought of as Gurley and he had unfettered free agency. He had 32 teams with no draft picks attached, and the market was $13.5 million … less than Gurley’s ($14.375 million average). At the end of the day, business changes, and we pay attention to that.” That’s a very revealing statement, and indicates the Cowboys might feel emboldened by the fact that Bell didn’t get as much as a lot of people thought he would. Jerry’s son also added that he didn’t “want to get into what we’ve offered but we’ve been very generous with our offer.” The Jones’ clearly plan on playing hardball with their young running back.
- If you’re looking for some slightly more positive news, fortunately we have some courtesy of Albert Breer of SI.com (Twitter link). Breer writes “there’s a decent shot” that the Cowboys are able to get deals done with both Dak Prescott and Elliott before Week 1. He also notes that Amari Cooper talks “have been slower moving.” As for the terms, Breer suggests that in this scenario Prescott would eclipse $30MM annually, with Elliott “maybe nudging past” Gurley. Of course, Jones’ statement came after these thoughts from Breer, and it now seems he’s prepared to dig in his heels at something less than what Gurley got.
The Cowboys are in a lose/lose with Dak. He is around the 15th best QB in the league. Sure you could argue he could be a couple spots higher. But then again you could argue he could be a couple spots lower. $30M is crazy insane. But if they don’t sign him they are back to square 1.
Of the three, Zeke is hands down the best player. But he is also the easiest to replace. Is some of Zeke’s production due to the offensive line? Sure. But he is still a beast.
Cowboys are just in a tough spot. Will be interesting to see how things unfold.
Please name 15 current starting QB’s better than Dak Prescott…Although I do agree with you that they have to pay him because if they don’t, there’s nobody else who they can pluck from Free Agency and have a better chance to have even a winning season with. And his camp probably knows that. Pay him, and hope for the best.
could easily name 15 High School QBs better than Prescott
Also Uncle Rico, Ryan Leaf, Curtis Painter, manti te’o’s girl friend and Tim Tebow.
In no particular order…
Brady. Mahomes. Rodgers. Luck. Wilson. Wentz. Brees. Rivers. Ryan. Roethlisberger. Goff.
Those 11 are easily better than Dak for me, which would put Dak in the following group, which I would argue are all fairly similar, meaning you could argue for either or…
Watson. Cousins. Mayfield. Stafford. Newton. Dak. Jimmy G. Trubisky.
So that puts Dak somewhere between 12-19 for me.
Drew22 is spot on! That put’s Dak at 19 for me and I’m pretty sure I can find a couple more to put ahead of him!
It doesn’t matter if he’s the best, or even the 10th best, when it comes to the contract. It matters a lot that he isn’t one of the 10 worst. He’s going to get paid, because the Cowboys don’t have an alternative. These deals will put the Cowboys into cap hell, and they will he competitive, which will result in lower draft picks. They are in their current contention window. That’s just the way the league works. They will have to reset afterwards. If Dak regresses during the deal, it won’t change the fact that at the time, they had to do it.
Dak>wentz. Have to factor how fragile /injured wentz is
The NFL is going to have to raise the salary cap significantly after all these QB deals. It’s crazy to think that any QB in the top 20 is going to get paid like a top 5 guy in years past.
It’s unfortunately the nature of the business since the NFL has made the QB position the focal point. They are almost untouchable by rule which creates less chance for injury and better stats. 10 years ago we wouldn’t even be talking about Dak as a long-term QB.
Zeke for Ramsey!
Dallas’ biggest problem isn’t the talent, it’s the coaching. I don’t think JJ is looking to pay $30m for a QB, $20M for a WR and $15m for a RB not to win in the playoffs. $65m is a lot to shell out for maybe a 9-10 win season for 3 players.
I agree that Jason Garrett should be giving half of his salary to the Redskins for imploding last season.
Dan would just steal the money!
Don’t pay them, They are not that good and until Garrett leaves we will not get anywhere anyway
Elliott is as good as he is cause he gets to run behind that great line
Maybe Cowboys should trade Zeke to Jaguars and see how he performs behind a below average offensive line
Good idea!
Reality check!
The Cowboys have shown they are a very average team without Zeke.Dak isn’t good enough to carry them