Jerry Jones isn’t sweating the Ezekiel Elliott holdout. In fact, he may even consider it a blessing in disguise. Jerry Jones has one deadline in mind. He wants Zeke back for the playoffs. That’s when they really need him. It’s a dangerous game but he has a legit reason not to panic yet.
Jones said this morning on 105.3 The Fan that he wants Zeke fresh for the playoffs. Not getting a heavy work load in the early of the season might be beneficial:
“We’ve got a marathon here. We want Zeke when we get to the playoffs,” Jones said. “We want Zeke when we’re in the dog days of the season.”
“We may very well play without a player that’s not coming in on his contract,” Jones said.
Jones does have another point. Dallas will be receiving salary cap relief for every game Zeke doesn’t show up. Elliott is set to lose $227,000 a week in base salary if he holds out into the regular season. At some point, I guess he’s hoping Zeke will waive the white flag and report during the season. It’s a lot of money to throw down the toilet.
Here’s what I do know. Jerry is playing a dangerous. Dallas opens the season with the Giants, Redskins, and Dolphins. Dallas HAS to win those games. If they were to drop one or two just because they don’t have Elliott, the season is over, kaput, see ya next year. That’s not a risk I would be willing to take. Apparently, that’s the risk Jerry is taking.
I think we are going to find out just how valuable Zeke is. I don’t think there’s any question Dallas SHOULD be able to beat those 3 teams without Zeke. If they have any issue at all, then I think we have our answer. Pay the man.
