The Dallas Cowboys, Ezekiel Elliott staring contest continues
By Chris Hill
In 1993, Dallas Cowboys Running Back Emmitt Smith held out the first two games of season before getting a new deal. Will Ezekiel Elliott follow suit?
This is part two of the article and focuses on what options the Dallas Cowboys have in case running back Ezekiel Elliott decides to extend his holdout to the season. Since the first article, the Cowboys have arrived in Oxnard for training camp and Elliott is officially a holdout as chronicled by Jori Epstein in her USA Today piece.
The back and forth on whether Elliott, the reigning NFL rushing champion, would holdout out is no longer up for discussion. Grant Gordon points out on NFL.com that Jerry Jones categorized the running back a non report in his post practice press conference.
There’s no reason to believe things won’t stay cordial between the Cowboys and Elliott’s representatives, but tensions will undoubtedly rise the closer we get to the season without Elliott taking part in team activities. Also, the longer he misses, the higher the risk of an injury once he does return due to lack or proper preparation.
When Emmitt held out back in 1993, the Dallas Cowboys were the reigning Super Bowl champions, and he was backed up by former Alabama running back Derrick Lassic. Per Revolvy.com, he became the first rookie running back to start the season for a defending Super Bowl championship team.
As all Cowboys fans know, the team started that season with two straight losses but rebounded to win the franchise’s fourth championship. Emmitt got the contract he wanted and the team got the championship it wanted.
The Elliott situation is similar in many ways, but we will have to see how it plays out. One key similarity is the backup running back position which is now manned by largely unproven talent in the in the NFL.
A conservative approach would have the Cowboys use former sixth round pick, running back Darius Jackson, as the fill in for Elliott, but in my opinion, the Cowboys legitimately have two options, both rookies who they will lean on if Elliott decides to holdout beyond the preseason.