Cowboys should enlist 3-year plan with Ezekiel Elliott, let him walk

aikemirv · Aug 6, 2019

Jake said:
In case you're still wondering why Zeke is holding out this year, the article leads to the only way Zeke can change the scenario - holding out this year.

The Cowboys already have Elliott for this year and have exercised the fifth-year option on him for the 2020 season. Despite early offseason rumors, the star runner isn’t holding himself out of team activities this year...

You don't say?

It’s difficult to see Elliott dismissing a $9.1 million payday by sitting out the 2020 season.

Indeed.

At the end of the 2020 season, Elliott will be 25 years old and would be heading into free agency. However, the Cowboys should then use the franchise tag on Elliott and pay the cost of that tag.

Uh huh.

After the 2021 season, Elliott will be 26 years old and have six seasons under his belt. The Cowboys will surely have expended a ton of carries on Elliott’s legs and the time would be perfect to let him go in free agency.

Or Zeke could sit out 2019, by pass the $3.8 million salary, come back next year and get his accrued season for $9.1 million. You don't suppose he'd try that, do you?

https://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/20...act-discussion-three-year-plan-franchise-tag/

If he sits out the whole year I was under the impression the contract is tolled and he is still starting year 4 next year so we would still have 4 years not 3 - he has got to show up sometime this year!

Ranching · Aug 6, 2019

Jake said:
In case you're still wondering why Zeke is holding out this year, the article leads to the only way Zeke can change the scenario - holding out this year.

The Cowboys already have Elliott for this year and have exercised the fifth-year option on him for the 2020 season. Despite early offseason rumors, the star runner isn’t holding himself out of team activities this year...

You don't say?

It’s difficult to see Elliott dismissing a $9.1 million payday by sitting out the 2020 season.

Indeed.

At the end of the 2020 season, Elliott will be 25 years old and would be heading into free agency. However, the Cowboys should then use the franchise tag on Elliott and pay the cost of that tag.

Uh huh.

After the 2021 season, Elliott will be 26 years old and have six seasons under his belt. The Cowboys will surely have expended a ton of carries on Elliott’s legs and the time would be perfect to let him go in free agency.

Or Zeke could sit out 2019, by pass the $3.8 million salary, come back next year and get his accrued season for $9.1 million. You don't suppose he'd try that, do you?

https://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/20...act-discussion-three-year-plan-franchise-tag/

If we dont sign him, I see him holding out this year and not risk injury for 3 million. Come back next year for 9 and then 2 tagged seasons at about 15 each. That's almost 40 million for 3 years. May as well sign him so we dont waste this year.

eromeopolk · Aug 6, 2019

If I was Zeke and lead the league in rushing 2 of 3 years and was told the Cowboys picked up the fifth year option that will pay you $9M in 2020 but $3M this year, I would hold out like Darrin Smith did come back game 10 and pick up my big money check in 2020, 21, and 22.

His agent has given him good contract advice. But Jerry's love for him is over and done. Superman better not hang around kryptonite anymore in the off season.

khiladi · Aug 6, 2019

aikemirv said:
Thats re-writing a bit of history. Jerry already paid Lael for the draft screwup: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...ly-gets-huge-two-year-extension-from-cowboys/

and treated him better than anybody else would have!

Murray is not complaining, he took that used up Cowboys season all the way to the bank - it was a great windfall for him!

The agents were planning for him NOT to get drafted ON PURPOSE after the issues came out. Multiple teams were competing for Lael and he CHOSE the Cowboys. Dallas pitched their story to him like other teams.

Collins’ agents eliminate 16 teams from contention and give briefings to the remaining suitors. The contract would be non-negotiable. Collins would get a guaranteed contract with no offsets, second- and third-year maximum salaries for a UDFA, and the remainder of Team X’s signing bonus cash pool. If he were ever charged or indicted in the murder investigation, the guarantees would disappear and the contract would be torn up.

https://www.si.com/2015/05/15/lael-collins-nfl-draft-dallas-cowboys-murder-investigation

glimmerman · Aug 6, 2019

erod said:
They need to give him a 4-year deal that is basically guaranteeing him three years of franchise tags starting right now. That way, he's taken care of injury-risk-wise, and he'll have about $45 million guaranteed. However, there DEFINITELY needs to be off-field clauses related to that guarantee.

Then, you can revisit in Year 4.

His value to the team warrants this. He's the best player they have.

They may have the clauses in the contract and that’s a reason he won’t sign. Big drop off from top paid gurly and second highest RB. So a little more than gurly should have satisfied them money wise.

xwalker · Aug 6, 2019

beware_d-ware said:
Intentionally screwing over players is how we got into this mess to start with. We chewed up Murray and spit him out, and it looked like good moneyball at the time, but we are only really seeing the costs of it 4 years later. Zeke's not going to let the same thing happen to him.

This is also why I'm fine with overpaying La'El and putting him at RT. If you back out on your agreement and screw over your miracle-from-God UDFA now, how willing do you think the next one will be to sign with you later.

Have you heard of a team called the New England Patriots?

MarcusRock · Aug 6, 2019

Proof said:
what did he hope or feel about in his post? he just laid out a version of how things could play out. your post sounds a bit more as if you have some insight as to whats really going on, or how you feel.

When every post of the situation is met with a "but the FO could lock him out" or "we can get other guys" or "Zeke will get nothing and like it" or "he needs to honor his contract (and pay no attention to the team cutting players)" or "Jerry's mad and won't back down" it's someone putting their hoped for emotions into a business transaction. The two don't mix.

aikemirv · Aug 6, 2019

This is all going to work out best for the Cowboys long term IMO. Cooper will get signed, Dak will get signed to the correct size deal based on his performance without Zeke and Zeke will end up with a deal, or he continues his boneheaded ways and finds his way out of Dallas with a trade of some sort.

I will miss Zeke this year, love watching him play but am not in his corner on this one. He is just diminishing his future value. Look what Leveon did to himself.He is a better back than Gurley and got less money. Zeke should learn a lesson from him.

MarcusRock · Aug 6, 2019

khiladi said:
Exactly... Garrett’s last year.. Dak’s contract, his career being built off Zeke, can’t even throw a TD when Zeke is suspended. Cooper also holds leverage as well as far as Dak is concerned. Jerry trying to sell Dak as the future of the franchise, because he’s marketable.

Zeke’s contract context is totally different than a normal contract dispute.

This is why Zeke has leverage. It puts the team's feet to the fire on whether they think Dak can be the man or not (with Cooper who also has to get paid) this year. I hope it doesn't come to that because as much as I like Dak as a person and a leader, having more on his plate might not be what he can handle this year at least.

MarcusRock · Aug 6, 2019

America's Cowboy said:
The Cowboys rolled into their 2016 season with a rookie-at-that-time RB (Zeke) helping to protect their rookie-at-that-time QB (Dak) and offense lead the team to a 13-3 record. What makes anyone think not 1 but 2 talented rookie RBs in Pollard and Weber could not do the same now for a 3 year seasoned QB in Dak, much improved WRs & TEs, plus a stacked Oline? That's not including a much more creative new but talented O-Coordinator?

The offense will be fine without Zeke.

Do Pollard and Weber come with the same pass protection reputation that Zeke did out of college? Remember, they brought in Zeke to protect a fragile Romo, not Dak, by both being a cowbell and in pass protection. If you remember the play where Romo got hurt, it was Zeke that put K.J. Wright into an aerial somersault which allowed Romo to get outta the pocket before what happened. Pollard and Weber haven't even sniffed a real football game against a defense with bad intentions. But yeah, let's roll with uncertainty at an important position when a meeting of the minds can avoid all that. That is what will get done despite people wanting to deny Zeke anything because they don't "feel" it's right. No place in business.

BrassCowboy · Aug 6, 2019

Future said:
Ummm this plan is exactly why he's holding out.

A 3-year plan is dumb if the player isn't actually going to play.

So you think he will go three years without pay by holding out?
If so, well then it is by his own doing anyways

beware_d-ware · Aug 6, 2019

erod said:
They need to give him a 4-year deal that is basically guaranteeing him three years of franchise tags starting right now. That way, he's taken care of injury-risk-wise, and he'll have about $45 million guaranteed. However, there DEFINITELY needs to be off-field clauses related to that guarantee.

Then, you can revisit in Year 4.

His value to the team warrants this. He's the best player they have.

This seems to be the most sensible approach to me. If your plan is "tag him then throw him away", then guaranteeing the first 3 years basically costs the same and removes the threat of holdouts

xwalker said:
Have you heard of a team called the New England Patriots?

You know, I actually discussed the Patriots in my first draft of that post, but took it out because it didn't seem germane.

No one seems to be able to duplicate what they do, however.

Proof · Aug 6, 2019

MarcusRock said:
When every post of the situation is met with a "but the FO could lock him out" or "we can get other guys" or "Zeke will get nothing and like it" or "he needs to honor his contract (and pay no attention to the team cutting players)" or "Jerry's mad and won't back down" it's someone putting their hoped for emotions into a business transaction. The two don't mix.

Gotcha more a general response to the overall sentiment then to his specific post.

MarcusRock · Aug 6, 2019

Proof said:
Gotcha more a general response to the overall sentiment then to his specific post.

Well, kinda, lol.

BigD49 · Aug 6, 2019

beware_d-ware said:
Intentionally screwing over players is how we got into this mess to start with. We chewed up Murray and spit him out, and it looked like good moneyball at the time, but we are only really seeing the costs of it 4 years later. Zeke's not going to let the same thing happen to him.

This is also why I'm fine with overpaying La'El and putting him at RT. If you back out on your agreement and screw over your miracle-from-God UDFA now, how willing do you think the next one will be to sign with you later.

Demarco Murray owes every dollar of his PHI contract to the Cowboys OL and how we used him. I'd say it was absolutely good moneyball to let him walk, as he was never close to living up to the contract that he got. Do it all again and I bet you don't hear a single complaint from Demarco about how the 2014 season went other than how it came to an end

MaaS · Aug 6, 2019

Zeke and his agent will never see it coming!

DeaconMoss · Aug 6, 2019

Heres the only deal I would do.

Hes owed 13 million next 2 seasons. If he gets tagged 2 years, thats like 10 per season. <>33 million

4 yrs 33 million. Take it or rot in hell.

BotchedLobotomy · Aug 6, 2019

CATCH17 said:
Zeke is bluffing.

He's not going to sit out and lose that money. If he does it's a bad decision by him.

Dallas has all the leverage.

Would not be the first bad decision by Zeke

PA Cowboy Fan · Aug 6, 2019

beware_d-ware said:
That's the thing with La'El: that money was a 1st round contract we owed him. IIRC, if you look at the total value of his UDFA deal plus his second contract, it's about equal to what the #16 pick gets paid over 5 years. We have fans now saying "cut him! he's overpaid! start C-Will at RT!" and while that might be a defensible decision on the micro scale, on the macro scale we are a lot better off honoring our agreement.

And WRT Murray: we probably took 2 or 3 years off his career by giving him the highest workload of the decade, then didn't even attempt to resign him afterwards. That was just a bad faith move by the team.

We used him up and threw him away. If we would have lightened his load some which we could have with Romo as QB we might have gotten a few more years out of him. Then who knows maybe the Romo, Murray and Dez triplets could have done something. Instead here we are with a disgruntled RB that doesn't want to be treated the same way.

Jake · Aug 6, 2019

PA Cowboy Fan said:
We used him up and threw him away. If we would have lightened his load some which we could have with Romo as QB we might have gotten a few more years out of him. Then who knows maybe the Romo, Murray and Dez triplets could have done something. Instead here we are with a disgruntled RB that doesn't want to be treated the same way.

Exactly. It's as if some folks think Zeke and his agent don't know how things went with Murray, or can't read articles like the one in the original post.

Use 'em up and let 'em leave looks great on paper...unless you're the guy they plan to use up.

Cowboys should enlist 3-year plan with Ezekiel Elliott, let him walk

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Beyond tired of Jerry