Jerry Jones is doing his best to maintain leverage in the ongoing contract negotiations with Ezekiel Elliott, and that includes talking like he would be be perfectly fine with the star running back missing the majority of the season.
In his weekly appearance on 105.3 The Fan Wednesday, Jones reiterated that the Cowboys are prepared to play games without Elliott. He also made sure to note that Elliott is currently under contract, but he said the goal is to have him back for the playoffs.
Jerry Jones on @1053thefan: Nothing new on Ezekiel Elliott’s contract talks. Jones said there is no deadline. “We have to be prepared to play without any given player. …We may very well play without a player that’s not coming in on his contract. We’ll play and we’ll play well.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 28, 2019
Jerry Jones on @1053thefan: “We’ve got a marathon here. We want Zeke when we get to the playoffs. We want Zeke when we’re in the dog days of this season.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 28, 2019
The Cowboys obviously want Elliott on the field for Week 1, and it would be shocking if he missed the entire regular season. That said, he has that option. Because Elliott’s rookie contract contains a fifth year, he does not need to report at all this year in order to become eligible for unrestricted free agency next offseason. Reporting by the deadline next year would give him a fourth season accrued toward free agency, which is all a player needs.
There have been reports that Elliott and the Cowboys are not that far apart in contract talks, and most people believe Jones will eventually cave and pay his superstar. Although Jones may have offended Elliott with a remark he made about the situation recently, Zeke just wants financial security. If the Cowboys are willing to make him the highest-paid running back in football, there will almost certainly be no hard feelings.
