Jerry Jones Says Cowboys Prepared to Play Without Ezekiel Elliott

The Dallas Cowboys season begins next week and their star running back Ezekiel Elliott still hasn't reported, holding out over his contract demands. Club owner Jerry Jones addressed the situation Wednesday while appearing on 105.3 The Fan and the conversation has now shifted from when Ezekiel Elliott will arrive to who can replace him.

When speaking with The Fan's Shan & RJ show, the Cowboys owner got straight to the point. "I don't have anything to report there. No we don't have anything to report on our contract negotiations. We may very well play without a player that's not coming in on his contract," he said.

Jones also dove into the relationship with Zeke: "Some of the best friends I have in the world are people I've directly negotiated contracts with. That's just part of living."

While the situation may seem tense (and it's certainly not perfect), this happens every season in the NFL. Leverage and money will always be a factor as long as billions are on the table and that's a good thing, motivation at the highest level keeps both teams and those that play the game performing at peak levels. The more difficult part is usually timing because, and ask any Cowboys fan this, there is finally an opportunity for a Super Bowl again in Dallas...and those same fans will tell you it's been too long since the last Lombardi Trophy came home to America's Team.

Head coach Jason Garrett spoke Tuesday regarding the situation and his comments fell in line with Jones', reiterating how much the team wants Ezekiel Elliott back but that they have to prepare for games without the star from Ohio State and utilizing young running back Tony Pollard if need be:

"We love him as a guy. We love him as a player. We want to get him back in here. Right now, we're going with the guys we have. When Zeke gets back here, we'll get him integrated as quickly as we can, and he'll be a big part of our team."

A big part Ezekiel Elliott is. Since 2016 he's rushed for 4,048 yards and ran in 28 touchdowns...not to mention catching over 1,000 yards in the air and adding 6 trips to the end zone as well. Simply put, he's arguably the best in the NFL at his position...which is why he wants to be paid handsomely for it. Hard to blame Zeke for it, as running backs across the league are finding their value dropping significantly due to the position as a whole, so when opportunity strikes it must be realized while the door is open. For Cowboys fans, they all hope his contract arrives before that Super Bowl door closes.