For somebody who recently had a brush with the law and escaped NFL punishment, you’d think the best thing to do would be to lay low and just go about your training camp business.

Right?

Well no, not if you’re Ezekiel Elliott, who reportedly is thinking about skipping out on camp for a new deal, according to Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk: 

Per a league source, Elliott has privately said that he will hold out of training camp unless he gets a new contract.

The Cowboys haven’t focused on giving Elliott a new contract, largely because they don’t have to. They have instead focused on players with more immediate paths to free agency, from defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (who has signed) to quarterback Dak Prescott and receiver Amari Cooper (who haven’t).

Prescott and Cooper are due to become free agents next year. Elliott, the fourth overall draft pick in 2016, has two years remaining on his rookie deal, given that first-round selections are subject to a fifth-year option.

Florio says the running back will earn a salary of $3.85 million in 2019 and $9.09 million in 2020, which is similar in structure to my Crossing Broad contract.


Elliott, you’ll recall, met with commissioner Roger Goodell last week to discuss the May incident in which he shoved a security guard at a Las Vegas music festival. Zeke was detained but not arrested at the time, and the security guard in question decided not to press charges. The NFL is able to mete out punishment regardless, but decided no suspension was necessary.

Still, we wouldn’t want the Dallas Cowboys to have to deal with any distractions this season, would we? Wink wink, nudge.

(On a serious note, I understand running backs wanting to get paid sooner rather than later, since the average career length of an NFL player is 3.3 years and ball carriers wear down faster than guys at other positions)