The reports about when Ezekiel Elliott could potentially end his holdout and return to the Dallas Cowboys have been all over the place, but Jerry Jones indicated this week that he is not ruling out having to play games without the star running back. If that does happen, it could be as many as six games.
Because he remained away from the Cowboys through Aug. 6, Elliott cannot count the 2019 season as an accrued season toward free agency. That doesn’t really matter, however, as a rookie needs four seasons to earn unrestricted free agent status, and Elliott already has three and is still under contract for 2020. He could, in theory, sit out the entire 2019 season, show up next summer at the beginning of August, and still have enough years under his belt to become a free agent after next season.
While that may not be an issue, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explained on Thursday why it is unlikely Elliott will hold out beyond Week 6. Zeke needs to play in eight games this season in order to avoid his contract tolling. He can accomplish that by showing up in Week 10, but the Cowboys can request a roster exemption of up to three weeks when he returns and sit him during that time. If they did that, Elliott would need to show up by Week 7 to assure he will be on the active roster for at least eight games, which would be from Week 10 through Week 17.
If Elliott contract were to toll, the Cowboys would still have him under contract for two more seasons. His holdout is designed to pressure Dallas into giving him a long-term extension by withholding his services, but he also wants to make sure he can become a free agent in the event that the team never caves. That is why showing up no later than Week 7 makes sense.
Florio speculates that Jones may have had Week 7 in mind when he said this week that the Cowboys want Elliott back for the important part of the season. Of course, the goal remains to have him on the field in Week 1, but it sounds like the two sides have a lot of work to do if they want to make that happen.
— YARD BARKER