NFL Rumors: Ezekiel Elliott Will Miss 2019 Season If Dallas Cowboys, RB Don't Reach New Deal

Ezekiel Elliott is holding out of training camp, and the running back is reportedly prepared to stay at home for quite some time. According to ESPN’s Josina Anderson, Elliott’s representatives have told the Dallas Cowboys that the star won’t play in the 2019 NFL season without a new contract.

With two years and nearly $13 million left on his deal, Elliott wants to sign a new contract, likely one that will surpass the four-year, $57 million contract Todd Gurley inked with the Los Angeles Rams a year ago. The Cowboys are working on extensions with Elliott, Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper this summer.

While Elliott might be ready to miss meaningful games, it would be surprising if the 24-year-old isn’t with the Cowboys in Week 1 of the regular season. There is a growing belief that the two sides will eventually come to an agreement.

Sitting out the entire 2019 season would keep Elliott under contract with Dallas through the 2021 season. Elliott can be fined by the Cowboys $40,000 for each day he holds out. The team can also fine him a game check if he doesn’t report for Saturday’s Week 1 preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has indicated that the Cowboys are wary of paying a running back the kind of money that Elliott is looking for. Terrell Davis was the last rushing champion to win a Super Bowl during the season in which he led the league in yards, doing so with the Denver Broncos in 1998.

Emmitt Smith was the NFL’s rushing champion in 1992, 1993 and 1995 when the Cowboys won their last three Super Bowls.

Elliott might not be Dallas’ most important player, but he is almost certainly their best player. The running back was selected to the Pro Bowl in both 2016 and 2018 when he led the NFL in rushing. Elliott ran for 983 yards in 10 games in 2017.

Elliott has ranked first in rushing yards per game in all three of his NFL seasons.

Le’Veon Bell missed the entirety of last season when he held out for a new contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Unlike Elliott, Bell was able to hit free agency because he had already played five NFL seasons.