Is a big contract for Elliott the best decision?

[slick325]

Yes...pay talent not a position.

 

[Vanilla2]

They will not be praised. They will be laughed at just like how many here laugh at the Rams for paying Gurley significantly more than the highest paid TB at the time.

Hey look it’s a suspect in the future giants praise

 

[Stash]

People talk. I heard a couple of stories about him that came from good sources. Just think if TMZ didn't catch the Zeke deal in Vegas it would've been swept under the rug.

Would that mean it didn't happen?

 

[lostar2009]

When a young guy gets "free", from parents, school, whatever it's common to "sow his oats", especially when you have money and fame like Zeke got as soon as he hit the NFL. How many running backs get an NFL rushing title their first year? A very small percentage.

Most "young bucks", like I did, get the bar hopping, bed hopping, or whatever out of their system in a few years. Zeke may do the same, remember with the high profile he has he draws far more attention than some "unknown", so little things he does get way more noticed. If I bumped into some security guy it'd not make the national news.

Just saying that while Zeke is not your average guy, he may well get his rowdiness out of his system like most young guys do.

At least I hope so...

That's understandable but Zeke went to a high profile college school and was the man. I know he was doing whatever and smashing whatever. But that Vegas incident show part of his problem. Almost every year it's something with Zeke. You don't see Dak, Amari, Smith, Gallup out there doing half the stuff Zeke doing. But look ..... Those other guys are getting endorsements and I wonder where's Zeke?

 

[uvaballa]

Not a very smart decision paying Zeke top money but I get it. RBs generally are easier to replace and he’s had OTF issues.

 

[texbumthelife]

I'm still sifting through the 52 other posts about this exact topic. I'll get back to you once I'm able to give a board certified opinio.

 

[xwalker]

Like many of you, I find myself conflicted regarding the whole Zeke holdout issue. On one hand, I realize that he truly is a great player and a difference maker on the field. These Cowboys are certainly better with him than without him.

But is it in the team's best interests long term to make him the league's highest paid running back?

It certainly helps this year if they truly feel that they're a championship contender, and may be the difference between getting to the playoffs and not.

But can you trust the guy not to flake out again? Can you trust that once he gets paid he'll be the same iron man on the field that he has been? Can you trust him period?

And in a league that for better or worse (not being debated here) doesn't pay running backs big money, are you screwing up your cap by being the team that pays the most for theirs?

If you pay your running back tops in the league, where else are you short-changing yourself? Who are you forced to let go when there's no more cap room left?

Add it all up and I wonder if paying him is ultimately in the Cowboys long-term best interests?

What say you?

It is stupid to give in to the holdout.

The team will be fine with Pollard as the RB as long as Amari Cooper is set to go by game 1.

 

[Stash]

It is stupid to give in to the holdout.

The team will be fine with Pollard as the RB as long as Amari Cooper is set to go by game 1.

I certainly agree with that.

In fact, I was disappointed to read reports yesterday that indicated that the Cowboys 'upped their offer'. I'm hoping they aren't true and that the team holds firm.

At this point, I would start up the fines. And I'd tell him and his agent they have permission to seek a trade.

Do you or does anyone else know if or how the league's "five day notice" would or would not apply here?

 

[sean10mm]

Zeke is great.

It's also possible for Zeke to demand more than he's worth, for his price to be so high that bringing him in reduces the overall talent of the team because it eats too much of the cap.

What makes this situation crazy is that Gurley got a mega-deal, even though Gurley has bad knees already and basically had to take the Super Bowl off. It's easy for Zeke to say "I'm on his level, but I'm not a cripple, so I'm obviously worth more."

 

[Beaker42]

Yes and no.

Zeke is our best overall player. He makes us better in the win-loss column, period. We have a team that can contend right now and in a game of inches, it’s best to have any extra talent edge.

But RBs in this era are more replaceable. That money could go elsewhere and it will likely cost us talent at less replaceable positions down the road at some point.

Short term: definite yes.

Long term: nobody knows.

Amari Cooper begs to differ - 3-4 without, 7-2 with.

Total offense before: 320 yards per game

Total offense after: 362 yards per game

Passing offense before: 183 yards per game

Passing offense after: 250 yards per fame

Third down percentage before: 32% (30th in NFL)

Third down percentage after: 48% (1st in NFL)

 

[Hawkeye0202]

When a young guy gets "free", from parents, school, whatever it's common to "sow his oats", especially when you have money and fame like Zeke got as soon as he hit the NFL. How many running backs get an NFL rushing title their first year? A very small percentage.

Most "young bucks", like I did, get the bar hopping, bed hopping, or whatever out of their system in a few years. Zeke may do the same, remember with the high profile he has he draws far more attention than some "unknown", so little things he does get way more noticed. If I bumped into some security guy it'd not make the national news.

Just saying that while Zeke is not your average guy, he may well get his rowdiness out of his system like most young guys do.

At least I hope so...

Excellent post.........simply put, some players/guy mature faster than others.

 

[Sydla]

Hey look it’s a suspect in the future giants praise

Hey look, Vanilla2 doesn't know what he's talking about!

I will guarantee you that you will never, ever, ever, ever, see me praise the Giants for handing Barkley a big contract.

My posting history has been pretty clear on this topic - I think paying elite, big money contracts to TBs (any TB) is foolish. Shoot, I didn't want the Cowboys to take a TB at 4 and thought it was silly the Giants drafted Barkley.

But why let facts get in the way?

 

[Hawkeye19]

I'm not sure any of these big running back contracts have been "worth the money"?

Todd Gurley? Obviously not. The cautionary gale for the rest of the league.

David Johnson? Sure, if you want the 1st pick in the draft.

The Steelers weren't about to do it for Bell, Conner filled in just fine.

The Falcons paid Freeman, what's he done since?

Seems to me that teams quickly regret giving big contracts to running backs.

Regression towards the mean... with all those other teams regretting their deals, statistically we should be in line to hit a homerun then

 

[Flamma]

Workhorse running backs winning Championships is the exception nowadays and no longer the rule.

It was always rare that workhorse running backs won championships. An elite RB was always a luxury and never a priority to win a championship. Only a scant few times was the RB a big part of a team's championship. The 90s Cowboys was one of them.

 

[Direwolf63]

Like many of you, I find myself conflicted regarding the whole Zeke holdout issue. On one hand, I realize that he truly is a great player and a difference maker on the field. These Cowboys are certainly better with him than without him.

But is it in the team's best interests long term to make him the league's highest paid running back?

It certainly helps this year if they truly feel that they're a championship contender, and may be the difference between getting to the playoffs and not.

But can you trust the guy not to flake out again? Can you trust that once he gets paid he'll be the same iron man on the field that he has been? Can you trust him period?

And in a league that for better or worse (not being debated here) doesn't pay running backs big money, are you screwing up your cap by being the team that pays the most for theirs?

If you pay your running back tops in the league, where else are you short-changing yourself? Who are you forced to let go when there's no more cap room left?

Add it all up and I wonder if paying him is ultimately in the Cowboys long-term best interests?

What say you?

I think this will be Zeke's only big contract in Dallas.

All his guaranteed money will be paid out in 3 years and the Cowboys will be able to move on with little cap ramifications. Zeke will still be only 27 or 28 years old. But the Cowboys will move on. Especially if Zeke continues to attract the attention of the cops during the offseason because of his stupidity.

I don't like paying Zeke big money under these circumstances. Like it or not he's the teams best player and Jerry wants to win now. He ain't getting any younger.

But I think by 2022 or 2023, Zeke will be a ex-Cowboy.

 

[Praxit]

..you think Bellichick would have gave him that money? ..lol. I didnt think so either. NE runs a different philosophy.

 

[Jake]

Would that mean it didn't happen?

It's probably really good for the Cowboys that TMZ and camera phones weren't a thing during the 90s.

 

[Direwolf63]

I'll just add....the Cowboys need to change their offensive philosophy going forward.

The reason why Zeke is so valuable is because the offense, as it is currently constructed, runs through Zeke. A offensive system needs to be created such that it is not so dependent on the RB.

 

[Stash]

I think this will be Zeke's only big contract in Dallas.

All his guaranteed money will be paid out in 3 years and the Cowboys will be able to move on with little cap ramifications. Zeke will still be only 27 or 28 years old. But the Cowboys will move on. Especially if Zeke continues to attract the attention of the cops during the offseason because of his stupidity.

I don't like paying Zeke big money under these circumstances. Like it or not he's the teams best player and Jerry wants to win now. He ain't getting any younger.

But I think by 2022 or 2023, Zeke will be a ex-Cowboy.

Then I have to wonder, why not rip off the bandaid now?

 

[xwalker]

I certainly agree with that.

In fact, I was disappointed to read reports yesterday that indicated that the Cowboys 'upped their offer'. I'm hoping they aren't true and that the team holds firm.

At this point, I would start up the fines. And I'd tell him and his agent they have permission to seek a trade.

Do you or does anyone else know if or how the league's "five day notice" would or would not apply here?

Great question.

The team can send the player a letter stating that he must report within 5 days or they will put him in the reserve list.

If a team makes the move to put the player on the list after the 5 day notice, the player cannot come off the list and cannot play that season.

The player does not get paid and the team can request the prorated portion of the signing bonus be returned which is 16M/4 = 4M for Zeke.

I'm not certain if it's mandatory for the team to actually move the player to the reserve list 5 days after sending the letter or if it just gives the team that option.

I don't know if Zeke would continue the holdout into the season even without the letter.

There is minimal cost to the player to holdout during training camp. The fines are relatively trivial compared to missing game checks and teams don't always implement the fines.

For Zeke there are no significant reasons not to holdout of training camp.

Years ago some players would holdout during camp just because they didn't like going to camp. They would claim it was a contract issue but it was generally regarded as just a reason to avoid camp.

I seem to recall a player that did it more than once (held out of camp then reported for the season) but it was not a Cowboys player, therefore I don't remember the player or details. The name Albert Haynesworth is in my mind but a google search is inconclusive.