Ezekiel Elliott has found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time on more than one occasion since he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 2016, but the team is not planning to monitor him more closely this offseason than other players.
Or so they say.
On Tuesday, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones complimented Elliott for the way the 22-year-old has handled himself since his suspension. Jones also said the team will not take extra measures to make sure the running back stays out of trouble.
“You can only do so much” he said, per Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. “These are grown men. I have a lot of confidence that Zeke has learned a lot. Hopefully he has. Because if he has and he changes his behavior and he’s able to stay on the field, we all know he can be one of the greatest to ever play the game, if he takes care of himself and takes care of his business off the field. I think Zeke wants that. He’s a competitor. I think he wants to be one of the best.”
Elliott’s domestic violence case received the most attention and was ultimately what resulted in him getting suspended for six games, but that is hardly the only incident that landed him in the headlines for the wrong reasons. He was also accused of breaking a man’s nose at a bar and infamously exposed a woman’s breast during a St. Patrick’s Day parade.
While the idea of having personal babysitters may seem absurd, the Cowboys have reportedly done it in the past to make sure Dez Bryant fulfills his responsibilities to the team. Even if Jones says the team has no plans to do the same with Elliott, you can bet the former Ohio State star will be getting more phone calls this offseason than some of his teammates.
