The ongoing saga between the Dallas Cowboys and running back Ezekiel Elliott appears no closer to a resolution now that the preseason has ended, and owner Jerry Jones doesn’t expect that to change by the time his team hosts the New York Giants in Week 1.
On Thursday night, Jones admitted that he’s accepted the reality that Elliott will miss the Giants game and potentially several weeks after that.
“I’m operating as though right now he’s going to miss regular-season games,” Jones said, via Sports Illustrated. “My entire expectation for what we’re putting together as a team right now would anticipate with him holding out and not having any training camp that he’s going to miss games. I just accept that.
“Zeke knows full well how valuable he is to our team. But he also knows because there’s been a lot of games when he didn’t play that he wants us to win if he’s not playing. And we’ve got to be ready to win if he’s not playing.”
Elliott and Jones have sparred a bit in the media over the past few weeks with nearing appearing willing to back down.
Zeke, who finished 2018 as the NFL’s leading rusher, seeks a contract that would make him the highest-paid running back in the league, but Jones has balked at those demands thus far.
Whether or not Jones is blowing smoke and merely playing chicken or is really determined to move forward without Elliott remains to be seen, but the Giants are certainly hoping it’s the latter.
