Jerry Jones handles Ezekiel Elliott holdout perfectly
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones enjoys the media. Sometimes, he plays to them. Not on Friday.
No, this time Jones largely took the high road when talking to gathered media at the Cowboys’ training camp facility in Oxnard, CA. With star running back Ezekiel Elliott holding out for a new contract despite having two years left on his current deal, Jones could have said plenty. Instead, he said little about Elliott other than confirming he’s late for reporting.
When predictably pressed on the topic, Jones didn’t go into detail. He didn’t make promises or threats. He simply stated Elliott didn’t report, and that he’s looking forward to seeing the team in action. Smart move.
In short, Jones is keeping the focus on the players who reported, per NFL.com.
“Again, I’m not going to get into, from my perspective, you can ask each and everyone of us that here, about when we’ve had conversations with him,” Jones said. “But I’m not going to get into any conversation, at all, we will not — we will not — be making updates. It’s certainly appropriate that you’re asking about it here at our opening press conference and he’s not here. But the last thing we want to get into is a daily update on contracts. Everybody’s under contract. It’s a part of what goes on in football. Football is business. It’s pro football.
“Again, I’m so excited about this team and I’m so excited about the players, including him, that we have under contract. And I’ve got excited about the work we got done in our OTAs and then our minicamps. Excited about how we drafted. This does not, in any way, diminish the excitement I have about this team.”
