Jones of the Cowboys operating as Ezekiel, Elliott will be absent from the games in the middle of the tournament | Bleacher's report

The owner of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, told reporters Thursday that he was waiting for half-square star Ezekiel Elliott to miss the regular season games in the midst of the current contract. 39, former star of Ohio.

"I'm operating like he's missing the regular season games," Jones said.. "All my expectations regarding what we are putting together as a team at the present time predict that it will not hold the training camp and that it will not miss any. I just accept it. "

Jones also said that he did not expect Elliott to miss out on the whole season and that the Cowboys will "need Zeke" and be "better" with him.

However, an agreement seems unlikely in the near future. Todd Archer of ESPN.com reported the following:

"The Cowboys and Elliott representatives have had talks in recent days, but nothing seems imminent, according to sources." Near the start of the training camp, the Cowboys made Elliott an offer that would make of him the second-best payer in the NFL behind Todd. Los Angeles Rams."

Elliott, who did not show up at the training camp, still has two seasons to his current contract after the Cowboys took advantage of their fifth year option, according to Over the Cap. He signed a four-year contract $ 25 million contract as a rookie with a signing bonus of $ 16.4 million. It is planned to do $ 9.1 million in 2020 before becoming independent.

Of course, the deal between Elliott's rookies is minimal compared to other big names who have won important second contracts, such as Over the Cap, including Todd Gurley (Los Angeles Rams) (14.4 million dollars a year), the Veon Bell of the New York Jets ($ 13.1 million) and David Johnson of the Arizona Cardinals & # 39;$ 13 million).

Elliott is one of the best offensive weapons in the game and led the league in rushing in 2016 and 2018. He racked up 5,247 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns in his first three seasons, despite his eight defeats.

Elliott can claim to be the most productive player in the league, so it's not surprising that he wants to be paid as such.

It's unclear how much Elliott wants to be paid, but this retweet of a message from former Cleveland Browns player, Joe Thomas, provides a clue:

The difference between a contract value lower than Gurley's and a 15 to 20 percent higher value than the Rams 'is quite large, meaning that Jones' comments on Elliott missing several games this season, as delays can sound real.

If this is the case, expect Tony Pollard to become the starter of the first week. The returning multi-purpose rookie from Memphis has run 15 times for 84 yards and one touchdown in three pre-season games. He rushed for 1,010 rushing yards and nine touchdowns in just 117 touchdowns in his junior year.

Pollard has the same advantage Elliott has had: he has to run behind a strong offensive line of left tackle Tyron Smith, right-handed Zack Martin and center Travis Frederick, who is making his comeback after missing the 2018 season with Guillain Barre. .

Perhaps the Cowboys will not miss Pollard in the backfield, especially since the schedule is not too hard on paper until the end of November. Eight of the Cowboys' first 10 games are against teams that did not play in the playoffs last year.

We'll see how the Cowboys behave this season with or without Elliott starting September 8, when they will host the New York Giants.

If Elliott's portfolio lasts more than a week, Dallas will travel to Washington on week 2, host the Miami Dolphins on week 3 and will travel to New Orleans Saints on week 4 to close the first quarter of the season.

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