Cowboys’ Jerry Jones Addresses Ezekiel Elliott & Dak Prescott’s Future

Dak Prescott Ezekiel Elliott

Getty Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott and RB Ezekiel Elliott

The Dallas Cowboys fell short of the ultimate goal during the 2018 NFL season with a divisional-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams. But it’s hard to argue that with a strong core, young and rapidly improving defense, and playmakers on both sides of the ball that they aren’t trending in the right direction. And it’s quarterback-running back duo Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott who have played the biggest role in the upward-pointing arrow.

After the Cowboys were eliminated from the postseason, Jerry Jones was on 105.3 The Fan Tuesday and addressed the team’s future. Specifically, he sounded off on both Prescott and Elliott while floating his thoughts and praise for both, per USA TODAY’s Jori Epstein.

First up, was the somewhat obvious question of Elliott’s future and whether he’d be a Cowboy for the “foreseeable future” and the response from Jones wasn’t very surprising.

The Cowboys owner proceeded to echo a similar sentiment on Prescott and heaped praise in the direction of the young signal-caller.


Ezekiel Elliott’s Immediate and Long-Term Outlook

Obviously, the Cowboys are unquestionably going to have Elliott leading the way for the immediate future. He’s heading into the fourth year of his rookie deal with a fifth-year option available for 2020. The fact Dallas has Elliott as their starting running back with a cap hit of just north of $7.94 million next season (per Spotrac) is a steal.

But the topic of discussion becomes the plan for Elliott in terms of his next contract. While the All-Pro is going to get a huge deal regardless, the Cowboys opted against forking over money to DeMarco Murray previously, although that was a very different situation.

Taking Le’Veon Bell’s number out of the mix, the current largest running back deals in the NFL feature Todd Gurley’s $14.375 million average per year and David Johnson’s $13 million. From there, it drops to Devonta Freeman at $8.25 million and LeSean McCoy at $8.01 million, per Over The Cap.

Even factoring in those numbers, Jones, of course, knows Elliott is among the best in the business and will receive a contract along those lines, barring something unforeseen happening.


Impressive Play of Elliott, Prescott in 2018

There’s no question both of the Cowboys’ young stars have put up strong numbers throughout their careers, but 2018 was impressive for the duo. Elliott finished the year with 1,434 rushing yards (No. 1 in the NFL), caught a team-leading 77 passes for 567 yards and scored 10 combined touchdowns during the regular season.

Prescott rebounded from somewhat of an up-and-down 2017 campaign in which he threw 13 interceptions by completing 67.7 percent of his passes with just eight interceptions in 2018. He reeled off a career-best 3,885 yards and scored 28 combined touchdowns (22 passing, six rushing) as well.

Both players will be staples of the future for Dallas, even if it means Jones has to fork over some big money in the very near future.

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