Rapoport: Zeke wants a new contract this offseason

[The Natural]

I actually LOVE the violence the Rod Smith brings when he runs. He is high energy and quick in the hole. He is decisive..and hits it hard. Hard runner to bring down and impossible to arm tackle. I think short term we wouldn't be losing anything if Zeke held out in 2019,long term, we dunno.

A guy like Smith is best served as a change of pace back. His style wouldnt be effective over 16 games.

 

[AsthmaField]

You think we can get someone better as a backup? Not a starter, a backup.

I agree w/ what you're saying about him. He lacks suddenness. However, he runs tough and the one thing I disagree w/ you about is that he does punish defenders.

He appears to be a team guy, doesn't get hurt, knows the plays, and as long as we don't have to pay him a ton, he appears to be an adequate backup. I'm not talking about starting quality. There's not more than a handful of teams in the NFL who have 2 starting quality RB's.

I absolutely do think Dallas can get a better backup than Smith. I would try to find a good backup in the later rounds of the draft. I just don’t think Smith is a natural runner. He lacks the instincts.

I 100% agree with you that he’s a good kid, works hard and is a team player. He’s a RKG, for sure. He just doesn’t scare defenses at all.

It’s cool that we don’t agree on this, and I’m not saying that I know I’m right... it’s just how I see it.

 

[Rayman70]

I can see us letting Taco Charlton walk..or just flat out releasing him. Maybe even Gregory...HOWEVER,EDGE IS A POSITION OF STRENGTH FOR US,and I cannot see us weakening that asset.

 

[nightrain]

Zeke wont be here in 2019 if he holds that line. Rod Smith isn't Zeke, but hes good enough. We wont have the cap money to throw around to everyone.

If Rod Smith was the Cowboys feature back this year they would be picking top 5 in the draft and home watching the playoffs.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Answer the question.

Exactly, answer the question. So, which ones get payed early and which ones don't? They can't all get paid.

 

[Rayman70]

A guy like Smith is best served as a change of pace back. His style wouldnt be effective over 16 games.

I agree..he would start but we would have to use a committee.

 

[kskboys]

Is there any other profession where outsiders are mad about young people getting pay raises?

Huh? Boy, you sure missed the boat on this one.

Absolutely no one is saying to not give him a raise.

 

[Rayman70]

If Rod Smith was the Cowboys feature back this year they would be picking top 5 in the draft and home watching the playoffs.

agree. Not saying full time starter. SAYING,in a situation short term..if Zeke holds out, he can carry the load well for a 5 game stretch. The caveat is SHORT TERM.

 

[The Natural]

Exactly, answer the question. So, which ones get payed early and which ones don't? They can't all get paid.

Aight since you dont want to answer the question i’ll answer yours. The best get paid.

 

[Rayman70]

Rod smith reminds me of Marion Barber.Guess I like him more than others on here. I really see a good player here. Glad we have him.Big,fast bruiser of a back. Zeke is the gear that drives the train, and Smith is the sledge hammer that has the ability to polish them off.

 

[dckid]

actually..I think we can get Dak on the Franchise tag this year and save some money.Let him prove it.MONEY IS A PROBLEM.I DISAGREE. Yes we have much more cap space than we normally do, but "paying is not a problem.?" We have many guys up for new deals etc. NO WAY CAN WE KEEP THEM ALL. We will lose someone we want.

I would never give Dak the franchise tag, that 30 million for one year. Let him okay out his 4th year. Dak is the guy I’m least worried about. He isn’t going to find a better situation than Dallas.
The Zeke problem is that our whole offense is built around him a unique situation in the modern NFL.

 

[kumizi]

Lawrence
Cooper
Zeke
Byron
Jaylon
Dak (I'd rather not but that's a different convo)

I dunno anything about the cap but can we afford to keep all these guys or we gonna have to let a couple of them go?

 

[bayeslife]

Zeke is priority #1 to re-sign. I'd sign Foles in the offseason, re-sign Zeke and try to get a deal done with Cooper and Lawrence.

We don’t have an Andy Reid OC to make Foles play well though

 

[dckid]

As good as he is it arguably was a waste of resources to draft him #4 overall. Many of us maintained that all along (and continue to do so). No need to compound our mistake and throw good money after bad money by giving him a second contract.

Yeah but who will fill his role in our offense, I wouldn’t mind trying to get Fournette in the cheap as Jacksonville has soured in him and have a thunder and thunder attack.

 

[glimmerman]

I absolutely do think Dallas can get a better backup than Smith. I would try to find a good backup in the later rounds of the draft. I just don’t think Smith is a natural runner. He lacks the instincts.

I 100% agree with you that he’s a good kid, works hard and is a team player. He’s a RKG, for sure. He just doesn’t scare defenses at all.

It’s cool that we don’t agree on this, and I’m not saying that I know I’m right... it’s just how I see it.

I like Rod but he dances to much around the hole and I don’t remember him doing that before. Guessing that he is out of practice since Elliot gets a lions share.

 

[bayeslife]

I mean why not? Stay ahead of the market, maybe Zeke will go for 6 year deal to finish out his career.

 

[Rayman70]

only way I sign Dak longterm is if we backload the deal. No way do I wanna crush our cap for 2019. We have a ton of dudes to rework and get done.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Aight since you dont want to answer the question i’ll answer yours. The best get paid.

Aight, since you are clearly trying to avoid the question posed to you, then I will respond to yours. So you think we should extend Martin early again because he is clearly the best player we have. So the best get paid, then I'm guessing what you are saying here is that we should resign Martin, after having signed a new deal with him last year. I mean, he is the best we have right?

 

[Rayman70]

Lawrence
Cooper
Zeke
Byron
Jaylon
Dak (I'd rather not but that's a different convo)

I dunno anything about the cap but can we afford to keep all these guys or we gonna have to let a couple of them go?

I see us losing Cooper or Byron.

 

[conner01]

No way.

Frankly I am not sure we should resign him at all given the wear and tear on TBs.

The question is do you want him till 24 or 28 really
We have another year and the tag though many times the tag doesn’t work out well for a guy with nothing to prove like Zeke
Worked for Dlaw because he had something to prove
Love Zeke but by 28 he will be done
Too many carries for him to last
If they want to keep Zeke another 4-5 yrs then extending him now is smart
If you plan on replacing him after next year then let him play out