PFT: Ezekiel Elliott has privately said that he’s planning a training-camp*holdout

[L.T. Fan]

The more I think about it, the more I warm to the idea of trading Zeke. Like others have said, his value will never be higher, and he does have some off the field stuff every year it seems.

Trade him and do what successful teams do, find the next guy. You’re not going to find another Zeke, but you should be able to find a guy to average 4 yards behind this line. Cheaper too, and hopefully with substantially less headaches.

He is valuable as a player but he may not play at all if he doesn’t get his way and 35M is too much for even him. He has no value if he holds out and his loyalty is not to the organization. I understand he wants more money but his business ethics are suspect since he is gumming up the works trying to get ahead of guys who are in line for a contract renewal. I could support a trade and let him sit while fining him until you get a trade deal. To me his attitude overrides his talent.

 

[1bigfan13]

The more I think about it, the more I warm to the idea of trading Zeke. Like others have said, his value will never be higher, and he does have some off the field stuff every year it seems.

Trade him and do what successful teams do, find the next guy. You’re not going to find another Zeke, but you should be able to find a guy to average 4 yards behind this line. Cheaper too, and hopefully with substantially less headaches.

I'd be more on board with this idea if the Cowboys had a QB who was more of a playmaker with his arm. If Dak had the passing ability of guys like Matt Ryan, sure, go ahead and go the plug-and-play route at RB. But Dak's not that kind of QB. He hasn't shown that he can consistently carry the team with his arm.

Dak's limitations as a passer is why Zeke has some leverage in these negotiations and why I don't think the Cowboys will see as much success with JAGs like Alfred Morris & Pollard carrying the load.

 

[1bigfan13]

He is valuable as a player but he may not play at all if he doesn’t get his way and 35M is too much for even him. He has no value if he holds out and his loyalty is not to the organization. I understand he wants more money but his business ethics are suspect since he is gumming up the works trying to get ahead of guys who are in line for a contract renewal. I could support a trade and let him sit while fining him until you get a trade deal. To me his attitude overrides his talent.

The NFL is a cut throat business and aside from the QB position (franchise QBs) there is very little loyalty shown by the organization to the players.

I notice you always harp on loyalty and honoring contracts. You're stuck in the good old days where a man's handshake was just as good as his signature on a dotted line. That's not how things work anymore with pro sports contracts.

If Zeke were a complete bust and averaged around 3 yards per carry and made several mental mistakes per game, the Cowboys would have cut him by now. Even though he still has a couple of years left on his contract they'd have pushed his ass out the door.

Would you be harping on the Cowboys not showing loyalty by honoring their contract with Zeke? My guess is you'd be happy they chose to cut bait early and the words "loyalty" and "business ethics" wouldn't cross your lips.

 

[ravidubey]

Zeke almost has no other choice. The timing is perfect and his value has never been higher.

This is the hubris of the insane number of carries they’ve lazily piled on Zeke

If he lets his rookie deal play out, who’s to say the Cowboys don’t just let him sign elsewhere like Pittsburgh did with Bell? We saw how far the Steelers got, or rather didn’t get, without him.

I’ve seen this happen time and again where a great RB is traded away and replaced with a much lesser player. Walker trade aside, usually both sides lose.

In this case though, Zeke has a good three or maybe even four great seasons left. Four years is a football eternity.

 

[2233boys]

I get why he is doing it, because in two years when his rookie deal runs out he will be 26, typical lifespan for an NFL rb is age 27. Honestly his maturity level is the only thing that gives me pause. He is one of the best if not the best back in the league.

 

[p1_]

this is Zeke's only shot at a big contract. This is it for him.

 

[L.T. Fan]

The NFL is a cut throat business and aside from the QB position (franchise QBs) there is very little loyalty shown by the organization to the players.

I notice you always harp on loyalty and honoring contracts. You're stuck in the good old days where a man's handshake was just as good as his signature on a dotted line. That's not how things work anymore with pro sports contracts.

If Zeke were a complete bust and averaged around 3 yards per carry and made several mental mistakes per game, the Cowboys would have cut him by now. Even though he still has a couple of years left on his contract they'd have pushed his ass out the door.

Would you be harping on the Cowboys not showing loyalty by honoring their contract with Zeke? My guess is you'd be happy they chose to cut bait early and the words "loyalty" and "business ethics" wouldn't cross your lips.

If anyone thinks Jones isn't loyal to his players then I don't know what to tell you. He is loyal to a fault so I should think he deserves the same respect. If it's being stuck to continue to think that the good old days of loyalty and trust are useless and without value then I guess we will just have to look at things differently. The NFL may be a cutthroat business but a contract is a contract and there is more than loyalty and trust that it carries with it. It also has a legal position. Further I don't know why you think I would be happy if the Cowboys chose not to honor their contract with Elliot. Is that some sort of hint or judgmental position you are getting at? And when is spending ones opinion around here determined to be harping? Your post has somewhat surprised me by the way responded but that's okay as well.

 

[L.T. Fan]

this is Zeke's only shot at a big contract. This is it for him.

Why is it his only shot? He will have next year as well.

 

[L.T. Fan]

I get why he is doing it, because in two years when his rookie deal runs out he will be 26, typical lifespan for an NFL rb is age 27. Honestly his maturity level is the only thing that gives me pause. He is one of the best if not the best back in the league.

This may be the reason he is doing it but as an owner wouldn't that same consideration be a factor to giving or not a huge long term contract to a player?

 

[p1_]

Why is it his only shot? He will have next year as well.

I mean this contract. Not this moment in time.

 

[L.T. Fan]

I mean this contract. Not this moment in time.

The contract he is seeking? Okay.

 

[p1_]

The contract he is seeking? Okay.

yeah, just saying his time is now. Its sad to realize the days of the Emmitts of the world are gone.

 

[Deuce]

It boggles my mind that we will pinch pennies on the best RB in the game, but plan on giving up $100M+ to Dak for average play that was dependent on said RB.

 

[Bluestar71]

It boggles my mind that we will pinch pennies on the best RB in the game, but plan on giving up $100M+ to Dak for average play that was dependent on said RB.

It does seem counter intuitive. But that's simply the state of the NFL these days. QB gets overpaid and RB gets underpaid because it's relatively easy to replace one and always difficult to replace the other. What can you say other than it's good to be an NFL QB, even an average one.

 

[p1_]

It does seem counter intuitive. But that's simply the state of the NFL these days. QB gets overpaid and RB gets underpaid because it's relatively easy to replace one and always difficult to replace the other. What can you say other than it's good to be an NFL QB, even an average one.

Thank you very much Kirk Cousins and Jimmy Garoppolo.

 

[Simpleton]

Here's what's crazy to me, clearly the organization plans on extending Elliott at some point. So if the plan was to let Elliott's contract play out then maybe franchise/extend him, you'd be looking at him getting paid somewhere around $21-22 million in 2020 and 2021 if franchised. If you give him a 4/60 type of contract that begins in 2020 his cap hit will likely be somewhere around $13 a year, which is almost identical to the roughly $11 a year hit if he plays out the 5th year and is then franchised. You can still easily get out of a 4 year deal after 2-3 years without much of an issue and you get Elliott happy and in his prime. The only thing that makes sense as far as an impasse in negotiations is if Elliott is asking for $16+ AAV.

 

[jsmith6919]

 

[boozeman]

This may be last minute posturing considering it is August 6th.

But, if he continues to play hardball, I would start thinking about moving him.

Just kind of hard to see what team would be willing to take him on and at what price.

 

[Simpleton]

This is what I'm struggling with, about 4-6 months ago big-mouthed bass Stephen Jones basically said that Elliott would get a deal larger than Gurley's. In my mind, if the Cowboys are offering 15 AAV and a proportionate amount of guaranteed money, the deal should be done. So either Elliott's demands are outrageous (16-18 AAV) or Stephen is going back on his previous comments where he pretty much said Elliott's deal would eclipse Gurley's. I'd truly love to know which is the case.

 

[mcnuttz]

I love Zeke, but I would listen to any trade offers.