The 2018 Rushing Leader has not reported to training camp and wants a big extension, do the Cowboys need to give it to him?
Ezekiel Elliott is six days into a contract holdout with the Dallas Cowboys. Zeke reportedly wants to be the highest paid RB in the league, beating Todd Gurley’s 4 years for $60 million and $45 million guaranteed. Considering the fact that Zeke has led the league in yards per game every single year since coming into the league it should be a no-brainer to extend the back, right? Very, very wrong. Contracts coming up very soon for Dallas include 3x pro bowler Amari Cooper, standout linebacker Jaylon Smith, 2018 All-Pro Byron Jones, and 2x pro bowler Dak Prescott. With the NFL’s hard cap it may be impossible to pay everyone; Cowboys Stephen Jones was quoted saying “They gotta understand, there’s a real salary cap out there… but any money we save is not going into Jerry’s pocket, its going to another football player.” This begs the question, do the Cowboys need Ezekiel Elliott, or can they let him walk in exchange for the money to pay Dak, Amari, Jaylon and Byron.
Let’s look at Zeke’s production in 2018:
1434 Rushing Yards (Led the League)
6 Rushing TDs (T-19th in League)
4.7 Yards p/ Carry (T-19th in League)
6 Fumbles (2nd in League)
You see that and maybe you’re not thinking top back in the league money, right? Well let’s look at some maybe underrated stats about the back. When Zeke rushes for less than 100 yards, the cowboys went 3-6 in 2018 and vice versa went 6-0 when he did. He seems to make a huge impact to the W/L column for this iteration of the cowboys and with Travis Frederick seemingly healthy for this upcoming season you can imagine that Zeke will be even better. The Cowboys need Zeke; Cowboys legend Michael Irvin was quoted today as saying “The Cowboys will get nowhere without Zeke.” The stats seem to agree with this sentiment. I think the Cowboys need to pay Ezekiel Elliott his money or the top spot in the NFC East might switch hands once again this upcoming season.
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