The deadline for reaching an agreement with franchise tagged players came to an end last Monday, in what turned out to be a pretty uneventful day all around the league. No agreement was reached by any of the teams with their respective players, including the Dallas Cowboys and their promising “War Daddy,” DeMarcus Lawrence.
But the Cowboys’ front office have something to learn in this process that doesn’t involve a player of their own. Something that both the front office and Ezekiel Elliott should be keeping a close eye on.
The Pittsburgh Steelers also failed to secure their franchise tagged player: Running Back Le’Veon Bell. Really, no one expected a deal to be reached among the two parties. The 26-year old football super star is asking for too much money, which has led to the Steelers tagging him twice in consecutive years.
Bell, conscious of his abilities on the field, is asking for a lot of money from his football team. In 2018, he’s set to earn over $14.5M under the tag. That’s more than twice the money that Devonta Freeman averages per year – 8.25 million – who’s next on the list of highest paid running backs in the league and the highest paid on a long-term contract.
Le’Veon, whose agent has said 2018 will likely be his last season playing as a Steeler, was reportedly offered $15M per year but that wasn’t enough for him. Bell wants to get paid as an elite offensive weapon, which he is. But it turns out he’s also… a running back.
It’s a complicated situation and one that, if it turns out well for him in free agency next year, could revolutionize the entire running back market in the NFL. If it doesn’t, he might end up regretting passing on the Steelers’ offer for he won’t easily find that kind of money with a team that seems to be a Super Bowl contender on a yearly basis.
The Dallas Cowboys’ priorities will rely on other players during the next couple of years, but that shouldn’t keep them from keeping close tabs on these events since they could be dealing with a similar scenario when Ezekiel Elliott’s turn for a new deal comes around.
Fairly assuming that the fifth year option on Zeke’s contract will be picked up after the 2018 season, locking him up through 2020, it’s a problem that will be down the road for the Cowboys. But it will have to be dealt with at some point.
When his time is up, Elliott should undoubtedly be looking to become the highest-paid in the game, but the amount of money he gets will depend on the outcome of this whole Le’Veon-Steelers thing. David Johnson and Todd Gurley will also play an important role in determining the future of the running back market.
While Elliott hasn’t been used as a receiving threat during his first two seasons in the league, he’s still an elite offensive weapon for the Cowboys. The team’s offense is based around Zeke and the running game, so it will make sense if his demands are somewhat similar from those by Bell.
Elliott might even be franchise tagged once or twice by the Cowboys if things get complicated in the future. Unlike DeMarco Murray in 2014, surely they won’t be willing to let him walk in free agency once his contract comes to an end.
For now, it won’t be just the Cowboys who will be keeping close tabs on this situation, but also Ezekiel Elliott and his agent. Hopefully, both parties will manage to handle things better than what we’re seeing right now in Pittsburgh.
