UPDATED 8/30/19: On Friday, Jerry Jones addressed the state of the Dallas Cowboys, insisting the team's success does not rely soley on Ezekiel Elliott.
"Zeke is an outstanding player, and arguably right there with our best players. But no one gives up in any way, especially with the talented group that we have," the Cowboys owner told 105.3 The FAN. "Most of these teams win Super Bowls without rushing champions. Secondly, we've had [Elliott] going on three or four years and we haven't won it yet. So we got to figure out that obviously he's not the ingredient that will win it. You've got to think like that. You've got to play like that ... It's availability."
He added: "One player can make a difference, but not the difference."
Read the original story below.
The Dallas Cowboys don't appear any closer to figuring out a deal with their star running back Ezekiel Elliott, and owner Jerry Jones seems to have made peace with the idea of not seeing Zeke on the field until October.
Pro Football Talk speculates that Zeke will play the requisite eight games for a year to be counted on his contract. Via their story:
"Whether they sign Elliott to a new contract or not, they’ll likely get Zeke in the 'dog days of the season.” Signed through 2020, Elliott risks tolling his contract for a full year if he doesn’t show up in time to get credit for the fourth year of his five-year rookie deal.'
Jones' comments to the media made it seem like he expects Zeke in the back half of the season.
“We’ve got a marathon here,” Jones said. “We want Zeke when we get to the playoffs. We want Zeke when we’re in the dog days of the season.”
Jones has been candid to the point of causing offense during this holdout, ruffling feathers when he said "Zeke who?" in response to a question about the star back. Zeke, for his part, has laid out his case in interviews during the offseason. Elliott believes he is part of a wave of young backs that are finally getting paid what they are owed.
"Until the very recent deal with Todd Gurley [four years, $60 million], I think there was an undervalue of the running back," Elliott said. "But with guys like Gurley getting drafted so high, then me, and now guys like Saquon [Barkley] getting drafted in the first round, I think we’ve done a great job of bringing back the value of the position, showing the importance of the running back."
