Should Cowboys have paid Zeke?

[big dog cowboy]

No, but they already invested the 4th pick in the draft and you can't let franchise players like that just walk regardless of the position they play.

 

[Sydla]

But they didn’t which was largely blamed for signing Zeke and Coop. We also let Collins, Heath & Quinn walk. 4 starters on defense.

LOL at lamenting the loss of Heath.

And Quinn, I liked, but what he got paid? Nah. And FWIW, he's gotten off to a slow start in Chicago despite the Bears defense being pretty good.

 

[jsb357]

He developed an offense in which the running back was the most important player.

That was as stupid in 2017 as it is in 2020. It's why the Panthers, Vikings, and Giants are just as dumb.

He took the players the GM gave him and took the easiest path to wins

Every coach in the league does this.

 

[Sydla]

No, but they already invested the 4th pick in the draft and you can't let franchise players like that just walk regardless of the position they play.

Yes you can. Again, what you guys are advocating here is that because we made a mistake in 2016 using the 4th pick on a TB, we need to make another mistake and sign him to a long term deal that made him the highest paid TB in football?

Yeah that doesn't seem like a good way to run a franchise.

 

[baltcowboy]

It’s a reminder of how little attention Cowboys management was paying to the NFL landscape in the summer of 2019 when they honored Elliott’s holdout and made him the highest-paid back in the league.

The last thing any NFL team ever wants is the highest-paid back on its payroll, which is why Zeke has no trade value whatsoever. Nobody is looking to add a huge salary cap hit at the running back position for 2021 with a declining player who now can’t stop fumbling along with not being able to break runs of any consequence.

Yet here the Cowboys are because the Joneses got scared and were afraid of what might happen if they opened the 2019 season without Zeke.

The Cowboys are a franchise out of step, and now it’s running out of having anything on offense beyond some top-notch receivers and a running back whose history and contract far exceed his present value.

As time passed and Prescott developed and the Cowboys added Amari Cooper and then CeeDee Lamb, this became Dak’s offense. Elliott’s importance diminished on an almost weekly basis. He became a luxury item , a $90 million player with zero trade value.

No, in today’s NFL you really should only pay the quarterback, offensive tackle, and elite talent on defense. Skilled position players should just play out contracts and then be replaced. No running back has played better then his first 5 years of his career. Not even Emmitt or Barry.

 

[MonsterD]

I was one of people in the minority who were screaming to trade him for whatever draft pick or picks we could get. Due to the situation I wasn't expecting a first round pick.

 

[Future]

But they didn’t which was largely blamed for signing Zeke and Coop. We also let Collins, Heath & Quinn walk. 4 starters on defense.

No it's not. They simply chose to spend that money on Lee, Crawford and Griffen. They could have re-signed them too - though there's no way I'd have given Quinn what he got from Chicago.

 

[Diehardblues]

LOL at lamenting the loss of Heath.

And Quinn, I liked, but what he got paid? Nah.

Cumulatively it definitely has had an impact.

 

[Diehardblues]

No it's not. They simply chose to spend that money on Lee, Crawford and Griffen. They could have re-signed them too - though there's no way I'd have given Quinn what he got from Chicago.

Right. And we can critique those decisions based on the results thus far.

 

[Diehardblues]

No, in today’s NFL you really should only pay the quarterback, offensive tackle, and elite talent on defense. Skilled position players should just play out contracts and then be replaced. No running back has played better then his first 5 years of his career. Not even Emmitt or Barry.

Unfortunately in Cap era this is a more effective strategy.

But Jerry still thinks it was the Triplets that won him those championships.

 

[Sydla]

Cumulatively it definitely has had an impact.

Heath's loss has little impact on this defense. Stop.

And with the way Quinn has played in Chicago right now, the cost to reward ratio doesn't look great at this point.

 

[MonsterD]

No, but they already invested the 4th pick in the draft and you can't let franchise players like that just walk regardless of the position they play.

Steelers did..and they made out pretty good without them.

 

[Future]

Right. And we can critique those decisions based on the results thus far.

I mean they chose the wrong players, but that has nothing to do with Zeke or his contract. Just using Byron as an example...

He has a cap hit of $17.6m. That number more than covers Griffen, Poe and Sean Lee. I would trade Byron for those 3 in a second.

 

[fivetwos]

Of course, the obvious answer is no. Jerry caved when #21 went to Cabo and held out.

Turns out #21 isn’t even the best RB on the team. Pollard is better.

Only way out of the Elliott contract in the short term is if Elliott screws up and does something stupid off the field voiding the guaranteed money and signing bonus. Party away, Elliott. One screw up away from a suspension.

Otherwise, stuck with #21 for another year or two.

He is here through 2022 realistically.

For him not to be, they will need to cut him this coming March, even though his 2021 salary is fully guaranteed already.

Lawrence, Smith and Cooper can be jettisoned after 2021.

 

[Diehardblues]

I mean they chose the wrong players, but that has nothing to do with Zeke or his contract. Just using Byron as an example...

He has a cap hit of $17.6m. That number more than covers Griffen, Poe and Sean Lee. I would trade Byron for those 3 in a second.

I understand but indirectly we made the choice to sign Zeke. Which in effect leaves someone out of the picture.

We can come up with all different scenarios to justify. Ultimately it’s a fair argument we shouldn’t have caved in to Zeke.

 

[G2]

The real question IMO, is "do you draft a RB that early?"
My answer would be no. Elliott is a great RB, but I don't know that it's been worth the investment.
But you have to pay him if you draft him that early. Why draft 4th overall if you're not all in?
I would think differently if he didn't produce.

 

[fivetwos]

No, but they already invested the 4th pick in the draft and you can't let franchise players like that just walk regardless of the position they play.

It was the right move at the time.

Mailing it in after the payday cant be predicted, but it seems to happen quite often around here.

Wonder why that may be.

 

[cowboysfan99]

Should have never drafted him in the first place so no, they shouldn’t have added on to the mistake.

 

[Diehardblues]

The fact we didn’t take advantage of Dak and Zeke in their Rookie contracts will go down as this ownerships biggest bundle this era.

 

[Sydla]

It was the right move at the time.

Mailing it in after the payday cant be predicted, but it seems to happen quite often around here.

Wonder why that may be.

Wrong move at the time. You don't pay TBs that kind of money in today's NFL.