Ezekiel Elliott’s holdout amid a contract dispute with the Dallas Cowboys seemingly has no end in sight. That notion was reinforced by the news that the running back has returned to Cabo San Lucas.
The timing of Elliott’s return to Mexico, where he sought refuge at the onset of his holdout, is certainly interesting. It comes only days after Jerry Jones jokingly took a shot at Elliott. The Cowboys owner, while reacting to Tony Pollard playing well on Saturday against the the Los Angeles Rams in Elliott’s absence, said, “Zeke who?” when asked about the absent running back. Elliott’s camp was said to be offended by Jones’ barb, calling it “disrespectful.”
In the aftermath of Jones’ slight, TMZ Sports confirmed Elliott is indeed back in Cabo, and the site makes note that he is even sporting a new hairdo.
As it stands, Elliott, in the final year of his rookie contract, will earn only $3.85 million if he plays in 2019, obviously well below his market value.
A report a few weeks ago indicated Elliott is willing to go the Le’Veon Bell route and sit out the entire season absent a new deal. The Cowboys appear willing at this stage to wait things out, but as the situation drags closer to the regular season, the team may have no choice but to change its approach.
That said, there have been ominous signs that things are no closer to being resolved than when Elliott initiated his holdout cropping up seemingly every week. Elliott’s return to Cabo is simply the latest indication that there is a legitimate chance that the Cowboys will be without their star running back come Week 1 of the regular season.
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