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The Dallas Cowboys have built much of their offense around the talents of Ezekiel Elliott. After taking Elliott fourth overall in the 2016 draft, they’ve ridden his legs to a couple of NFC East titles and one playoff win. The uber-talented back has two rushing titles to his name and would have had a third if he hadn’t missed six games in 2017. And therein lies the problem; Zeke missed those six games because of a suspension and has had a few other off-the-field incidents since he’s been in the NFL.
He recently had the pushing of a security guard at a Las Vegas music festival that was caught on video. Most observers think that the NFL will take a closer look at the incident and that some kind of punishment is possible. The Cowboys await that decision if the NFL ever chooses to rule on it.
Regardless of how much of an incident that was in Las Vegas, the idea that Zeke would put himself in that type of situation again is something that has been much discussed.
Elliott’s position coach, Gary Brown, has let the media know that he has discussed the issue with Elliott and tried to offer assurances that Zeke gets it.
RB coach Gary Brown on Ezekiel Elliott's Vegas incident: "We've talked about it. He understands, 'I can't put myself in those positions. I got to be smarter.' ... He already knows that he may have done something that wasn't right. He's got to move forward. We all make mistakes."
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) June 5, 2019
Besides the issue of Zeke missing any time because of the incident, the fact that something happened again off the field has to be a least somewhat concerning to the Cowboys. They are in the process, a process that is likely to take a long time, of deciding how much to give Elliott in a second contract. The Cowboys have been supportive and have hinted that this latest incident will not cause any pause in the contract negotiations. Maybe some of the reason behind that is they have talked to Zeke, as Brown says, and feel confident things are understood and that the future will be incident-free.
Elliott is a very popular player in the Cowboys locker room and has done things to become a leader on the team, such as the mentoring he’s doing with the running backs that our own R.J. Ochoa just reported on.
Ezekiel Elliott is a huge talent, and when he’s in the game the Cowboys are a better team. They want him to be a part of their future beyond the next couple of years. They are hoping that he has learned, finally, that everything he does will be scrutinized and that he has to understand the importance of not leaving any doubt about his conduct.