All signs are pointing to a hold out, and since Ezekiel Elliott still has two years left on his contract and the Dallas Cowboys have other players like Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper in the queue, it could be a long one.
Thursday, the running back didn’t show up for Dallas’ charter flight to Los Angeles. On Wednesday, head coach Jason Garrett told reporters he expected the Pro Bowl running back to join the team on the plane ride. Zeke apparently had other plans.
My sources tell me that despite a seat assignment on today’s flight to LA, with less than 10 minutes before takeoff, Ezekiel Elliott, is not on the plane. Players in the past have met the team in Oxnard. He has until tomorrow am to do so. #Cowboys #TrainingCamp
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) July 25, 2019
Cowboys training camp doesn’t start until Friday so Elliott could still show up in time and all will be well. No one really knows what he’ll do, with leaks and reports all over the place. He obviously wants a new contract. Dallas is under no obligation whatsoever to give him one and, frankly, shouldn’t. It sets a bad negotiation precedent and one that no other team in the league has fallen for as of yet.
Last season the Los Angeles Rams did negotiate a new contract for Todd Gurley a year early, but there was no threat of a hold out involved. There’s no question that the team would be better off keeping Zeke in the fold, but bowing to these demands now, with Prescott and Cooper on the final years of their deals, is just bad business.
So with teams reporting to training camp, there currently are no signs of:
🏈Ezekiel Elliott
🏈Michael Thomas
🏈Melvin Gordon
🏈Yannick Ngakoue
🏈Trent Williams— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 25, 2019
Adding to Elliott’s troubles are the fact that he keeps getting in trouble. Whether he’s been unfairly targeted or not (and the evidence seems to show he has), there’s no question his name keeps showing up in the news in ways that puts him in a negative light. If Zeke really does want to negotiate a new, probably record-setting running back contract, he can start by negotiating with himself to stay home on the couch and playing XBox.
Start the clock on a potential Ezekiel Elliott holdout. The RB did not join his teammates on the charter flight to California, sources said. He has until Friday morning to report.
— David Moore (@DavidMooreDMN) July 25, 2019
Last season Elliott led the NFL in rushing attempts (304) and yards (1,434) and average rushing yards per game (95.6). He added 77 catches for 567 yards and three touchdowns. It was the second time he led the league in carries and yards and the third consecutive year he’s led the NFL in yards per game.
