Ezekiel Elliott is currently holding out in hopes of landing a long-term contract extension with the Dallas Cowboys. This has caused a lot of controversy around the star running back to the point some are suggesting the Cowboys should trade him or simply cut bait. The All-Pro broke his silence last month with Maxim magazine and offered more perspective into his thinking during these negotiations.
“I love playing for the Dallas Cowboys, I love the organization, my teammates. I do want to be a Cowboy for the rest of my life and hopefully that’s a possibility,” Elliott said. “But even Emmitt Smith, the greatest running back ever, ended up going to play a couple of years for another organization. So it’s just the nature of the game, but I want to be a Dallas Cowboy for as long as I can.”
Elliott leads the NFL in touches, rushing yards, scrimmage yards per game, runs over ten yards and runs for first downs since 2016. The value of the running back has gone down in recent years but players like him, and others, are elevating the stock of the position once again. Elliott understands this as he also explained in July when he sat down with Maxim.
“Until the very recent deal with Gurley, 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.”
The recent retirement of Colts Quarterback Andrew Luck this past Saturday after a brief seven-year career should offer a different outlook on Elliott’s holdout. Luck was haunted by injuries over the last four years that forced him to walk away prematurely. “I’ve been stuck in this process. I haven’t been able to live the life I want to live,” Luck said. “It’s taken the joy out of this game and the only way forward for me is to remove myself from football and this cycle that I’ve been in.”
After hearing those words should we be surprised Elliott is trying to secure his long-term future? The average NFL career is less than four years. Running backs take more abuse than anyone and no running back gets used more than Elliott. He’s literally one ACL or an achilles injury away from possibly never playing again. If the shoe was on the other foot would any of us want other people putting their hands our pockets counting our money? No right? Then Elliott deserves that same respect in my opinion.
I have been adamant that this new deal for Elliott will get done and that hasn’t changed. The Cowboys want Elliott and he wants them so now we’re in the process of playing the waiting game while all the facts and figures are worked out. As always it’s chess, not checkers in these NFL streets.
