Ezekiel Elliott vs Jerry Jones: Who Has the Upper Hand?
Ezekiel Elliott vs Jerry Jones: Who Has the Upper Hand?
Since entering the league in 2016 Ezekiel Elliott has quickly emerged as one of the most exciting talents the NFL has to offer. During his three seasons in the league, the superstar has amassed 5,247 total yards and 34 touchdowns. These numbers are why the Dallas Cowboys have built their offense around Ezekiel Elliott with the help of talented offensive linemen like left tackle Tyron Smith, right guard Zack Martin and center Travis Frederick. These men ended up being first-team All-Pros making them one of the best offensive lines in the game today. With these all-stars leading the charge along with a young, fast defense and a serviceable quarterback all seemed like it was going the Cowboys. Then the key piece in this offense, Elliott, decided he deserved more.
At the start of training camp when the rest of the Cowboy’s team was on a plane heading for Oxnard, California Zeke was on his way to Cabo, St Lucas to begin his holdout. Now, this is nothing new for Jerry Jones. He has been through the wringer when it comes to superstar holdouts. Most notably Emmitt Smith in 1993 when the longtime owner of the team caved and gave the leagues all-time leading rusher his money after the Cowboys started off 0-2 in the regular season. This situation is currently playing out in a similar manner with both Jerry and Zeke playing hard ball. Zeke by not reporting to camp and Jerry has been going to the media saying things like, “You don’t have to have a rushing champion to win a super bowl.” With leverage on both sides, it still doesn’t change the fact the team is built around Zeke.
Last season the team traded a first-round pick for pro bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper and quarterback Dak Prescott has had some success, but Zeke is still the biggest threat on that team. Hold outs are becoming more and more common among NFL players. NFL owners feel players should honor their contracts, so holding out is the only leverage the players have. During a holdout, it is difficult to say what is going to happen as both sides feel they are right. Based on the noise surrounding the Cowboys situation, it doesn’t seem like a deal is getting done anytime soon and the Cowboys could very well start the league without there superstar running back.
-By: Ryan Johnson