Twitter: Zeke's exit may need to happen sooner than later

[sacase]

Only thing they barr going to do is convert salary to signing bonus. They need the cap space. Zeke is here until 2023.

 

[OmerV]

Rams did it with Gurley once they realized what they had done.

And Gurley was actually producing.

Gurley really didn't produce much his last season with the Rams - only 57.1 yards per game and 3.8 yards per carry. Zeke is slightly better than that this year - not that anyone should be excited about that. Bottom line is both underperformed their contracts.

 

[Aven8]

Well for one if I’m Moore and Mike when he taps his helmet I’m not letting him come off the field anymore!

 

[G2]

Well that's kind of the point.. Even though he recovered in a few days we know the disease compromises the respiratory system. Guess what dictates how well you can condition? Yep.. the respiratory system. Zeke could have trained as hard as he always has and not achieved the same results because of it. And the scary part is that he would have had no way of knowing. He could have run until he puked, felt like he had a good workout but never knowing that he was not building that conditioning base he was accustomed to having. The disease also weakens those who contract it. Again.. he might have felt "a little sluggish" all offseason but without knowledge of what was going on with his body he probably chalked it up to not being able to train at the team facility and figured it would all come back to normal once he did. Obviously it's all speculation but to pretend it was just a two week disease and everything went back to 100% normal is a mistake .. I think we are seeing that with a lot of the guys who have gotten it during the season. Including the guys in the college ranks.. Some of whom have actually decided to shut it down for the season after not feeling completely right after..

I support Elliott when it makes sense to me. If Elliott wasn't 100%, why wouldn't they "let him recover" and play Pollard more?

 

[ClappingCarrot]

Gurley really didn't produce much his last season with the Rams - only 57.1 yards per game and 3.8 yards per carry. Zeke is slightly better than that this year - not that anyone should be excited about that. Bottom line is both underperformed their contracts.

I think the difference is Gurley's issues are medical. Not fair to say he "underperformed."

Zeke is just a mentally weak, out of shape clown.

 

[Ranched]

More logical than cutting Zeke might be to shut him down for the rest of the season.

$90 million dollars to "shut him down"?! Better run that one by Jerry first.

 

[JMPearson]

Well that's kind of the point.. Even though he recovered in a few days we know the disease compromises the respiratory system. Guess what dictates how well you can condition? Yep.. the respiratory system. Zeke could have trained as hard as he always has and not achieved the same results because of it. And the scary part is that he would have had no way of knowing. He could have run until he puked, felt like he had a good workout but never knowing that he was not building that conditioning base he was accustomed to having. The disease also weakens those who contract it. Again.. he might have felt "a little sluggish" all offseason but without knowledge of what was going on with his body he probably chalked it up to not being able to train at the team facility and figured it would all come back to normal once he did. Obviously it's all speculation but to pretend it was just a two week disease and everything went back to 100% normal is a mistake .. I think we are seeing that with a lot of the guys who have gotten it during the season. Including the guys in the college ranks.. Some of whom have actually decided to shut it down for the season after not feeling completely right after..

To pretend otherwise is the mistake no more excuses for this guys people have been making them his whole life for him

 

[Stash]

Several Dallas area sports radio guys (Bob Sturm and Jake Kemp specifically) have been chatting quite a bit lately about the Cowboys cutting Zeke at the end of this season, and just taking the cap hit now. Before everyone screams “Can’t do it!”, look at the details of Zeke’s contract as lined out on Spotrac.com: https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/dallas-cowboys/ezekiel-elliott-18952/

I would argue that if this team’s is going to get better faster, we need to get rid of Zeke and his 3.8 ypc and 60 something yards a game, and draft a good young RB out of college with a mid round pick (and a rookie contract) to tandem with Pollard. Cut Zeke as a post June 1 cut, unless some other team is willing to trade for him (which won’t happen).

Here are the reasons:

• Keeping Zeke and the big contract is not the future. It’s the past. Sure it would give us some dead money to deal with but his signing was a mistake to begin with. Cut him at the end of the season and deal with the mistake instead of prolonging it. If this team is rebuilding, you have to suffer some to get better.
• His production continues to drop every year. Sure he hasn’t had a good line this year, but his per game yardage and per carry yards have continued to decline year after year.
  
• He’s lost his dynamic playmaking ability. He hasn’t had a run over 40 yards since his rookie year. Compare that to Derrick Henry who has had 9 runs over 40 yards since his rookie year. Two over 90 yards. Zeke may have taken too much punishment or had too big a load, but whatever the reason, he’s not that special anymore.

I know this will not be a popular opinion. And I know the dead money issue is real. But this team’s future is going to be all about drafting younger, cheaper talent, not keeping declining stars with big contracts. This team is not a player or two away from being relevant.

And for fans who think this would be stupid, I understand that argument. Maybe. But don’t worry. Because this front office won’t make bold moves like this because they are still buried in the delusion that “this roster is close” to being really good. No it isn’t. And won’t be until they recognize it needs a complete overhaul.

According to Spotrac, his post 6/1 release numbers for 2021 look like this:

2021 Dead Cap: $13,700,000
2022 Dead Cap: $10,800,000
2021 Cap Savings: $0

Based on those numbers, I think the soonest they can get out of this deal is after the 2021 season, but given that salary guarantee, it's now looking like after 2020 at the earliest.

Thanks again Stephen!

 

[RonnieT24]

I support Elliott when it makes sense to me. If Elliott wasn't 100%, why wouldn't they "ley him recover" and play Pollard more?

I don't think they fully know the impact the virus had on him. No one does. Including him. And the recovery might not be complete until next year..

 

[Plankton]

While Elliott certainly isn't playing anywhere near the level of his contract, and appears to be a declining asset, cutting him would be cap suicide next year. They would eat $24M of dead cap in 2021 if they release him before the salary for 2022 guarantees. If they wait for that to happen, and they cut him after June 1, they take a $13.7M cap hit in 2021, and a $10.8M hit in 2022. Taking cap hits of that magnitude in a season where the cap is likely to drop in the neighborhood of $25 million from 2020, and having Prescott on the hook for a $37M franchise tag would mean that the holes in this roster would only grow, as players in addition to Elliott would need to leave as well.

What they need is for someone to insist on him getting into top shape (and drop 10-15 pounds), and hope that he can regain some burst. Like it or not, he's here another two years.

 

[OmerV]

Well that's kind of the point.. Even though he recovered in a few days we know the disease compromises the respiratory system. Guess what dictates how well you can condition? Yep.. the respiratory system. Zeke could have trained as hard as he always has and not achieved the same results because of it. And the scary part is that he would have had no way of knowing. He could have run until he puked, felt like he had a good workout but never knowing that he was not building that conditioning base he was accustomed to having. The disease also weakens those who contract it. Again.. he might have felt "a little sluggish" all offseason but without knowledge of what was going on with his body he probably chalked it up to not being able to train at the team facility and figured it would all come back to normal once he did. Obviously it's all speculation but to pretend it was just a two week disease and everything went back to 100% normal is a mistake .. I think we are seeing that with a lot of the guys who have gotten it during the season. Including the guys in the college ranks.. Some of whom have actually decided to shut it down for the season after not feeling completely right after..

Is this really an issue 4 months after the fact, especially if he was staying in shape before he got Covid? Hell, he had about 2 1/2 months to work on his conditioning after recovering and before the season started, and another 1 1/2 months since then.

 

[G2]

I don't think they fully know the impact the virus had on him. No one does. Including him. And the recovery might not be complete until next year..

Seems like a stretch to me. These athletes have the best medical on the planet.

 

[Bobhaze]

I think the difference is Gurley's issues are medical. Not fair to say he "underperformed."

Zeke is just a mentally weak, out of shape clown.

I think one of the fundamental mistakes this FO consistently makes is it’s tendency to overvalue certain positions while undervaluing others. Jerry loves his WRs and RBs, and pays accordingly. He undervalues S’s and DT’s as exemplified by this FO’s reluctance to use premium draft capital on a DT or S. Not to mention filling their S and DT holes with cheap dumpster dive FAs.

And I think most fans (and Jerry) look at a guy like Zeke after 2016 and think there’s 7-8 more great seasons like that in him, when history shows that unless they are Emmitt or Walter Payton or Adrian Peterson, they are great for maybe...maybe 4-5 years. This is Zeke’s 5th year.

 

[jsb357]

In 2016 he ran behind an 18 million dollar a year line
and that inflated his performance numbers.

As that line has diminished so has his performance.

He's an above average RB drawing an elite RB salary

The FO knows this and signed him anyway.

Once upon a time JJ signed a RB holding out and won a SB that year.

He keeps trying to rebuild the past and that has been a continual detriment
to the future.

Basically forcing 88 on Lamb was yet another lame attempt.

Way to go Jerry!

 

[Bobhaze]

Is this really an issue 4 months after the fact, especially if he was staying in shape before he got Covid? Hell, he had about 2 1/2 months to work on his conditioning after recovering and before the season started, and another 1 1/2 months since then.

Maybe. I don’t think we know yet what the after effects of this virus are on athletes. Yes, under normal circumstances Zeke should have been fine by now. But I don’t think we have a full medical understanding of this thing yet. I’m not making excuses for Zeke. Just wondering.

 

[OmerV]

I think the difference is Gurley's issues are medical. Not fair to say he "underperformed."

Zeke is just a mentally weak, out of shape clown.

Maybe, although Gurley only missed one game last year, but whatever the reason for it, you said he was performing, and he really wasn't.

 

[ChronicCowboy]

He’ll be cut after next season at this rate.

 

[OmerV]

Maybe. I don’t think we know yet what the after effects of this virus are on athletes. Yes, under normal circumstances Zeke should have been fine by now. But I don’t think we have a full medical understanding of this thing yet. I’m not making excuses for Zeke. Just wondering.

Fair enough ...

 

[McKDaddy]

you can't dump all the bad contracts this offseason. Jaylon's performance is by far the most detrimental to the team. If you are going to eat any money, start there. After 2021, see where you are on the other players.

 

[Risen Star]

Zeke has fallen off hard. I don't think it's physical though. I think his head is not right for whatever reason, which gives me hope that he can turn it around. That said, he is not worth the money he's being paid so...

I think the world agrees that his head is not right.