Cowboys News: Jerry Jones says start of season is not a deadline for an Elliott deal, or any deal

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones: No deadline to sign Zeke Elliott - Clarence Hill, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Jerry Jones seems confident the Cowboys can enter the regular season without star running back Ezekiel Elliott.

Speaking on his radio show on KRLD-FM 105.3 the Fan, Jones said there is no deadline to get a deal done with Elliott even with Sept. 8 opener the New York Giants fast approaching.

“Not really at all,” Jones said. “A lot of things happen when we start missing games. You can miss games with injury, we have to be prepared. We have to be prepared to be without any given player. We very well may play without a player that is not coming in on his contract. We’ll play and we’ll play well.”

Team Still “Open For Business” With Dak, Cooper - David Helman, dallascowboys.com

Can Dallas get a deal done with Dak Prescott or Amari Cooper before the regular season?

But it’s also worth noting that there hasn’t been much in the way of progress with a new deal for either Dak Prescott or Amari Cooper, who are both set to hit free agency at the end of the season. Perhaps that because the situation isn’t as dire. Asked about it after the team’s kickoff luncheon, Stephen Jones said he’s been given no indication that Prescott or Cooper won’t negotiate during the 2019 season.

“We’re open for business,” he said. “We don’t put any deadlines on anything. No one has informed me that they’re either going to visit or not visit.” Jones said he spoke briefly with Prescott at the quarterback’s gala for his Faith Finish Fight Foundation on Sunday night, although not in any great detail.

“We talked about generalities, but there were no details discussed,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for these guys. They’re trying to do their job, and we’re trying to do our job.”

Rank’Em: Staff Predicts Cowboys’ 53-Man Roster - Nick Eatman, dallascowboys.com

Less than two weeks away from the regular season check out what will the Cowboys 53-man roster could look like.

While nothing has been finalized or even seems close to being done, the staff decided to keep Ezekiel Elliott on the roster for now, assuming he will get a deal done and make it for the first game of the season. If that doesn’t happen, there could be some shakeups at running back, but for now, the staff is under the assumption that Zeke will make it back.

That’s just one of the decisions they had to make. Others include what to do with Taco Charlton and the crowded defensive end position. Do they keep six cornerbacks? What about six receivers? And does Mike White stay alive on the 53-man roster? Check out the 53 players the Cowboys have making the final roster on Saturday.

Dallas Cowboys: Pro Bowl LT Tyron Smith’s back a point of worry - Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Could Tyron Smith’s back be the Cowboys biggest concern heading into the regular season?

No one is suggesting that Tyron Smith will pull a Luck and just quit any time soon. The more likely scenario is the pain will linger and continue, and it will simply impair him. Rather than play in the unofficial dress rehearsal game on Saturday, Smith sat out to have his back examined.

“I think we feel good about where he is. We’re treating it the right way and he’s responding to treatment so we’ll see,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “Time is important, a little bit of rest is important and hopefully over the next few days he’ll be back on the practice field.” This is simultaneously nothing and alarming.

Dallas Cowboys: Pro Football Focus gives Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson highest grade of all NFL rookies through three preseason games - Joey Hayden, SportsDay

The Cowboys’ sixth-round safety has impressed so far this preseason.

Three weeks into the preseason, Wilson has looked like a player who belongs. And according to Pro Football Focus' Anthony Treash, the safety has earned a higher grade (93.7) than any other rookie in the league over his first three preseason performances.

"With two of his three overall game grades surpassing 90.0, Donovan Wilson has gotten the attention of everyone at PFF, and he should be getting everyone else's attention too," Treash wrote. "Of his three targets in coverage, Wilson has intercepted two of them."

Wilson's impressive preseason continued last Saturday against the Houston Texans, which included this toe-tapping interception along the Cowboys' sideline:

NFLPA looking into Cowboys’ direct dealing with players - Mike Florio, PFT

The Cowboys negotiating techniques are drawing the interest of the player’s union.

On Wednesday, NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo pointed out a dynamic that the Dallas Cowboys haven’t tried all that hard to hide: Their propensity for cutting out the middleman and dealing directly with players who are represented by agents.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the NFL Players Association views the situation as “not good,” and currently is doing its due diligence before taking any official action and/or issuing any formal statement.

It won’t be hard for the union to piece together evidence. On Wednesday, owner Jerry Jones essentially confessed to 105.3 the Fan in Dallas that the Cowboys like to cut out the middleman whenever and however they can.

“[T]hat’s always been the issue with me and my approach to managing the Cowboys,” Jerry Jones said, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. “When you cut out the people in between the money and the player, we all know that agents, attorneys have their agenda. By the way, they are all taking money out of the pie too when they’re there. The straighter it goes from the source to the one receiving it, nine times out of 10 that’s more efficient.”

3 position groups to watch in the Cowboys’ preseason finale: See which players are trying to survive the final roster cut - Calvin Watkins, SportsDay

The final preseason game still holds some intrigue, including at receiver.

It’s easy to pick the Big 4: Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, Tavon Austin and Randall Cobb. After that, the Cowboys could go with five or six wide receivers. In the last two weeks, Devin Smith and Cedric Wilson emerged as the top candidates to take a job.

Smith leads the Cowboys in receiving with 12 catches for 157 yards and one touchdown. Smith is finally showing what he can do with his speed after tearing his ACL twice. Smith said this is the healthiest he’s been in years. He has a slight edge if the Cowboys go with five receivers. But it the team wants to have six, Wilson should get this spot. He’s second on the team in receiving yards (73) and has the ability to return punts (four returns, six fair catches for 53 yards), which gives him an edge over the younger receivers such as Jon’vea Johnson and Reggie Davis.

BTB Podcast

Make sure to check out the latest episode of the BTB podcast as our own Connor Livesay and Cole Patterson work to figure out who’s going to be on the 53-man roster with Dalton Miller.

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